mamaummtsaasagm 


THE  ARCHITECTQRB 


v^v/LLylNJAL  /\MJbJKlv>A 


HAROLD  DONALDSON  EBERLEIN 


i  '. 

UNIV.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  LOS  ANGELES 


LIBRARY  OF 

ARCHITECTURE  AND 

ALLIED  ARTS 


Gift  of 

The   Heirs 
of 
R.    Germain  Hubby,   A. I .A. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF 
COLONIAL  AMERICA 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/architectureofcoOOeberiala 


DOORWAY    OF    WYCK,    GERMANTOWN,     PHILADELPHIA. 

An   excellent   example   of   the    Pennsylvania    Colonial    type.      Built    1690. 

Frontispiece. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF 
COLONIAL  AMERICA 


BY 


HAROLD  DONALDSON  EBERLEIN 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM   PHOTOGRAPHS 

By  MARY  H.  NORTHEND 

AND  OTHERS 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

1924 


Copyright,  1915, 
Bt  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 


All  rights  reserved 


AM 


107 


FOREWORD 

IT  is  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  set  forth 
a  brief  history  and  an  analysis  of  the 
architecture  of  Colonial  America,  in  such 
wise  that  they  may  be  of  interest  and  value 
both  to  the  general  reader  and  to  the  architect. 

The  subject  will  be  treated  with  reference 
to  the  close  connexion  existing  between  archi- 
tecture and  the  social  and  economic  circum- 
stances of  the  period,  so  that  some  additional 
light  may  fall  upon  the  daily  conditions  of  life 
among  our  forefathers.  At  the  same  time, 
there  will  be  a  careful  critical  analysis  of  the 
origin  and  development  of  the  several  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  century  styles  that  have 
left  us  so  wealthy  an  architectural  heritage, 
an  heritage  based  upon  a  groundwork  of  tradi- 
tions brought  across  the  Atlantic  by  the  early 
craftsmen  and  artisans. 

Such  an  analysis,  it  is  hoped,  will  materially 
contribute  to  a  broader  appreciation  of  our  pos- 
sessions and  will  not  be  without  value  in  the 
interpretation  of  modern  buildings  in  which  the 
traditions  of  the  past  have  been  perpetuated. 


vi  FOREWORD 

Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that  a  more 
exact  knowledge  of  early  achievements  may  even 
supply  a  measure  of  inspiration  and  guidance 
to  those  who  purpose  building  homes  for  them- 
selves. 

In  thanking  those  who  have  so  courteously 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  this  book,  ac- 
knowledgment must  first  of  all  be  made  to 
Miss  Mary  Harrod  Northend,  to  whose  sug- 
gestion the  undertaking  was  entirely  due,  and 
whose  illustrations  have,  in  large  measure, 
made  it  possible  of  realisation.  The  author 
gratefully  records  his  indebtedness  also  to 
Messrs.  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  of  Phila- 
delphia, for  permission  to  use  a  number  of  illus- 
trations of  Pennsylvania  houses  that  appeared 
in  "The  Colonial  Homes  of  Philadelphia  and 
its  Neighbourhood",  by  H.  D.  Eberlein  and 
H.  M.  Lippincott,  and  likewise  for  permission 
to  reproduce  an  illustration  of  the  Adam  Thor- 
oughgood  house  from  "Historic  Virginia  Homes 
and  Churches",  by  Robert  A.  Lancaster,  Jr. ;  to 
the  Architectural  Record  for  permission  to  in- 
corporate, in  chapters  IV,  VIII  and  XI,  parts 
of  papers  contributed  to  that  magazine;  to 
Dr.  George  W.  Nash,  of  Old  Hurley,  for  gener- 
ous assistance  in  supplying  many  illustrations 
drawn  from  a  wide  geographical  area ;  to  H.  L. 
Duhring,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  for  suggestions 
that  bore  important  fruit  in  the  progress  of 


FOREWORD  vii 

the  work  and  for  the  illustration  of  the  Saal 
at  Ephrata;  to  Messrs.  R.  A.  Lancaster,  Jr., 
G.  C.  Callahan  and  Joseph  Everett  Chandler 
for  sundry  items  of  assistance ;  to  the  Librarian 
and  staff  of  the  Library  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  to  the  Librarian  and  staff  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  for  continued 
courtesies  while  the  following  pages  were  in 
course  of  preparation,  to  the  Brickbuilder, 
to  Mr.  Edmund  C.  Evans  and,  finally,  to 
Messrs.  Horace  Mather  Lippincott  and  Philip 
B.  Wallace  for  valuable  help  in  the  matter  of 
photographs. 

HAROLD  DONALDSON  EBERLEIN. 

Philadelphia,  August,  1915. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Introductory 1 

II.  The  Dutch  Colonial  Type,  1613-1820     .  14 

III.  The    Colonial    Architecture    of    New 

England 38 

IV.  Pre-Georgian      Architecture      in      the 

Middle  Colonies 57 

V.  The  Colonial  Architecture  of  the  South  77 

VI.  The  Georgian  Mode  in  New  England    .  99 

VII.  Georgian  Architecture  in  New  York       .  113 
VIII.  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 

Georgian,    1720-1805    .        .        .        .120 

IX.  The  Georgian  Architecture  of  the  South  156 
X.  The  Post-Colonial  Period  and  the  Classic 

Revival 166 

XI.  Public  Buildings  of  the  Colonial  and 

Post-Colonial  Periods         .        .        .182 

XII.  Churches  of  the  Colonial  Period     .        .  205 

XIII.  Materials  and  Textures    ....  236 

XIV.  Early   American   Architects  and   Their 

Resources 252 

Index 275 


LIST  OF  PLATES 

Doorway  of  Wyck,  Germantown,  Philadelphia.     1690 

Frontispiece 

Facing  Page 

Senate  House,  Kingston-on-Hudson,  N.Y.     1676     .  4 

Ward  House,  near  Salem,  Mass 4 

House  at  Yorktown,  Va.           .        .        .        .        .  5 

Exterior  of  the  Lee  House,  Marblehead,  Mass.     1768  5 

Laurel  Hill,  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia.     1762  10 

Pingree  or  White  Portico,  Salem,  Mass.    ...  10 

Typical  Houses,  Old  Hurley,  N.Y 11 

Elmendorf  House,  Old  Hurley,  N.Y.         ...  11 

Van  Deusen  House,  Old  Hurley,  N.Y.      ...  16 

Hallway,  Van  Deusen  House 16 

Hoffman  House,  Kingston-on-Hudson,  N.Y.     .        .  17 
Characteristic  Old  Dutch  House,  Kingston-on-Hud- 
son, N.Y 17 

Ackerman  (Brinckerhoff)  House,  Hackensack,  N.J. 

1704 24 

Verplanck  House,  near  Fishkill  Landing,  N.Y.  .         .  24 

Hall,  Bowne  House,  Flushing,  Long  Island,  N.Y.     .  25 
Dining  Room,  Van  Cortlandt  Manor  House,  Croton- 

on-Hudson,  N.Y 25 

House  of  Seven  Gables,  Salem,  Mass.     1669    .        .  40 

Fairbanks  House,  Dedham,  Mass.     1636          .        .  40 

Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  Mass 41 


Xii  LIST  OF  PLATES 

Facing  Page 
Paul  Revere  House,  Street  Front,  after  Restoration. 

1676 46 

Paul  Revere  House.     Great  Room,  Ground  Floor    .  47 

Doten  House,  Plymouth,  Mass.     1640     ...  52 

Narbonne  House,  Salem,  Mass 5i 

Wynnestay,  Philadelphia.     1689       ....  53 
South  Front  of  Wyck,  Germantown,  Philadelphia. 

1690 53 

Little  Tavern  at  Ionic  and  American  Streets,  Phila- 
delphia.    1692 60 

William  Penn  House,  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia  60 

Gloria  Dei  Glebe  House            61 

Oldest  House  in  Dover,  Dela 61 

Quaker  Alms  House,  Philadelphia    ....  66 

London  (Bradford's)  Coffee  House,  Philadelphia.    1702  66 

Old  Philadelphia  Court  House.     1707       ...  67 

Merion  Meeting  House,  Pennsylvania.     1695  .         .  74 

Moravian  Sisters'  House,  Bethlehem,  Pa.     c.  1748    .  75 

The  Saal,  Ephrata,  Pa 75 

Adam  Thoroughgood  House,  Princess  Anne  County, 

Va.     c.  1640 88 

Governour  Eden  House,  Edenton,  N.C.  ...  88 

House  at  Yorktown,  Va 89 

"Hospital"  House,  Yorktown,  Va 89 

House  of  Hon.  John  Blair,  Williamsburg,  Va.  .         .  98 

Carey  House,  Williamsburg,  Va 98 

Royall  House,  Medford,  Mass.     1732       ...  99 

Lee  House,  Marblehead,  Mass.     1768       ...  99 

Royall  House.     West  Doorway        ....  100 

Royall  House.     Doorway  in  West  Parlour       .        .  100 
Lee  House.     Banquet  Room    .        .                 .        .101 

Lee  House.     Stairway 101 

Lee  House.     Fireplace 104 

Lee  House.    Wall  Paper 104 


LIST  OF  PLATES 


xm 


Facing  Page 
Macphaedris- Warner  House,  Portsmouth,  N.H.  1723  105 
Dummer  Mansion,  Byfield,  Mass.  c.  1715 
Doorway,  Dummer  House  .... 
The  Lindens.  Stair  and  Hall.  c.  1770  . 
Wentworth  House.  Hall  and  Stair 
Parson  Williams  House,  Deerfield,  Mass.  1707 
Van  Cortlandt  House,  Van  Cortlandt  Park,  N.Y 
Philipse  Manor  House,  Yonkers,  N.Y.  1683  . 
Fraunce's  Tavern,  Broad  Street,  New  York  City 
Window  Detail,  Van  Cortlandt  House 
Philipse  House,  near  Tarrytown,  N.Y. 
Waynesborough,  Paoli,  Pa.  1724  . 
Graeme  Park,  Horsham,  Pa.  1721  . 
Graeme  Park,  South  Front 
Hope  Lodge,  Whitemarsh  Valley.  1723 
Great  Parlour,  Graeme  Park  . 
Hallway,  Hope  Lodge 
Whitby  Hall,  North  Front,  Kingsessing 

phia.     1754        .... 
Stairway,  Whitby  Hall 
Whitby  Hall,  South  Front 
Mantel  Detail,  Whitby  Hall     . 
Cliveden,  Germantown,  Philadelphia.     1761 
Mantel  in  Parlour,  Mount  Pleasant,  Philadelphia 

1761 

The    Woodlands,    South    Front.     Philadelphia. 

1770 

The  Woodlands,  North  Front 

The  Highlands,  Whitemarsh  Valley,  Pa.     1796 

Homewood,  near  Baltimore      .... 

Harwood,  Annapolis.     1774      .... 

Brice  House,  Annapolis.     1740 

Shirley,  James  River,  Va.  .... 

Westover,  James  River,  Va 


Philadel 


105 
108 
109 
109 
112 
113 
116 
117 
118 
118 
119 
119 
120 
120 
121 
121 

128 
128 
129 
129 
140 

141 

141 
146 
146 
147 
160 
160 
161 
161 


XIV 


LIST  OF  PLATES 


Carter's  Grove,  Va.     1728 

Andalusia  on  the  Delaware,  Pennsylvania.     1794- 

1832 

Old  Maritime  Exchange,  Philadelphia 

Andrew  Safford  Porch,  Salem,  Mass. 

Interior  Doorway,  Nichols  House,  Salem,  Mass. 

The  Capitol  at  Washington 

Girard  College,  Philadelphia     . 

Window  Detail,  House  in  Philadelphia 

Door  Detail,  House  in  Philadelphia 

State  House,  Philadelphia,  South  Front.     1733 

Hallway,  State  House,  Philadelphia 

Faneuil  Hall,  Boston.     1741     . 

Independence  Room,  State  House,  Philadelphia 

Old  State  House,  Boston 

Bulfinch  State  House,  Boston 

New  York  City  Hall 

Old  Pine  Street  Market,  Philadelphia 

Carpenters'  Hall,  Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania  Hospital,  Philadelphia 

Black  Horse  Inn  Yard,  Philadelphia 

Bruton  Parish  Church,  Williamsburg,  Va.     1714 

Old  South  Church,  Boston.     1730    . 

King's  Chapel,  Boston 

Christ  Church,  Philadelphia.     1727 

St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadelphia.     1761 

Gloria  Dei  (Old  Swedes),  Philadelphia.     1700 

St.  Luke's  Church,  Smithfield,  Va.     1632 

Old  Ship  Church,  Hingham,  Mass. 

Sleepy  Hollow  Church,  Irvington,  N.Y.   . 


Facing  Page 
.     164 


165 
165 
176 
176 
177 
177 
180 
180 
181 
181 
188 
188 
189 
194 
194 
195 
195 
204 
204 
205 
210 
210 
211 
211 
220 
220 
221 
221 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF 
COLONIAL  AMERICA 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

ARCHITECTURE  is  crystallised  history. 
Not  only  does  it  represent  the  life  of 
the  past  in  visible  and  enduring  form,  but 
it  also  represents  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
sides  of  man's  creative  activity.  Furthermore, 
if  we  read  a  little  between  the  lines,  the  buildings 
of  former  days  tell  us  what  manner  of  men  and 
women  lived  in  them.  Indeed,  some  ancient 
structures  are  so  invested  with  the  lingering 
personality  of  their  erstwhile  occupants  that  it 
is  well  nigh  impossible  to  dissociate  the  two. 

But  it  is  rather  as  a  revelation  of  the  social 
and  domestic  habits  of  our  forebears  that  the 
story  of  architecture  in  Colonial  America  con- 
cerns us  immediately  at  this  point.  As  the 
naturalist  can  reconstruct  the  likeness  of  some 
extinct  animal  from  a  handful  of  bones  or  tell 


2    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  age  and  aspect  of  a  sea  creature  that  once 
tenanted  a  now  empty  shell,  so  can  the  archi- 
tectural historian  discover  much  concerning 
the  quality  and  mode  of  life  of  those  who  dwelt 
aforetime  in  the  houses  that  form  his  theme. 
The  indisputable  evidence  is  there  in  bricks 
and  stone,  in  timber  and  mortar,  for  us  to  read 
if  we  will. 

What  can  be  more  convincing  than  an  early 
New  England  kitchen  in  whose  broad  fireplace 
still  hang  the  cranes  and  trammels  and  where 
all  the  full  complement  of  culinary  paraphernalia 
incident  to  the  art  of  open-fire  cookery  has  been 
preserved?  The  fashion  of  the  oven  attests 
the  method  of  baking  bread.  A  mere  glance  at 
these  things  brings  up  a  faithful  and  vivid  pic- 
ture of  an  important  aspect  of  domestic  life. 
Or,  turning  to  another  page  in  this  book  of  the 
past,  we  read  another  tale  in  the  glazed  lookout 
cupolas  —  "captains'  walks"  they  were  called 
—  atop  the  splendid  mansions  of  portly  and 
prosperous  mien  in  the  old  seaport  towns. 
Thither  the  merchant  princes  and  shipowners 
of  a  by-gone  day  were  wont  to  repair  and  scan 
the  offing  for  the  sails  of  their  returning  argosies, 
laden  with  East  Indian  riches  or  cruder  wares 
from  Jamaica  or  Barbadoes. 

The  old  Dutch  houses  of  the  Hudson  River 
towns  reflect  an  wholly  different  mode  of  life. 
The  living  rooms,  in  many  instances,  were  all 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

on  the  ground  floor  and  the  low,  dark,  unwin- 
dowed  attics  proclaim  the  custom  of  laying 
up  therein  bountiful  stores  of  grain  and  other 
products  of  their  fruitful  farms.  In  the  same 
region  the  manors  and  other  great  houses 
bespeak  a  fashion  of  life  that  cannot  be  sur- 
passed for  picturesque  interest  in  the  annals 
of  Colonial  America. 

The  spacious  country  houses  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Philadelphia,  with  their  stately 
box  gardens  and  ample  grounds,  tell  of  the 
leisurely  affluence  and  open  hospitality  of  their 
builders  whose  style  of  life  often  rivalled  in  ele- 
gance, and  sometimes  surpassed,  that  of  the 
country  gentry  in  England.  In  the  city  houses 
there  were  the  same  unmistakable  evidences  of 
the  courtly  social  life  that  ruled  in  the  metrop- 
olis of  the  Colonies.  Round  about  the  city, 
and  throughout  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania, 
were  substantial  stone  and  brick  farmhouses 
that  fully  attested  the  prosperity  of  the  yeoman 
class  and  also  indicated  some  striking  pecul- 
iarities in  their  habits  and  customs. 

Going  still  farther  to  the  South,  we  read  in 
the  noble  houses  that  graced  the  broad  manorial 
estates  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  of  a  mode  of 
existence,  socially  resplendent  at  times  and  al- 
most patriarchal  in  character,  which  had  not 
its  like  elsewhere. 

So  it  goes.    One  might  multiply  instances 


4    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

indefinitely  to  show  how  architecture  was  a 
faithful  mirror  of  contemporary  life  and  man- 
ners and  how  the  public  buildings  of  the  day 
represented  the  classic  elegance  of  taste,  then 
prevalent,  that  found  expression  in  a  thousand 
other  ways.  We  shall  also  learn  why  it  was  that 
New  England,  with  all  its  ready  abundance  of 
stone,  preferred  to  rear  structures  of  combust- 
ible wood  while  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land and  Virginia,  with  all  their  vast  and  varied 
wealth  of  timber,  chose  to  build  of  brick  or 
stone,  often  at  the  cost  of  great  inconvenience 
and  expense. 

Our  patriotic,  historical  and  genealogical  so- 
cieties have  done  much  to  make  us  regard  the 
men  and  women  of  by-gone  years  with  a  keener 
veneration  than  we,  perhaps,  formerly  paid 
them.  This  book,  it  is  hoped,  in  the  same  way, 
will  be  of  some  avail  to  increase  our  appre- 
ciation of  the  architectural  wealth  back  of  us. 
We  have  a  history  of  which  we  may  well  feel 
proud  and  we  have  an  architectural  heritage, 
dating  from  the  time  when  that  history  was  in 
the  making,  which  we  may  view  with  deep  and 
just  satisfaction. 

The  worthy  record  of  structural  achievement 
during  our  Colonial  period  ought  to  fill  us  with 
high  respect  for  the  ability  and  energy  of  the 
men  who,  while  they  were  building  a  nation  and 
subduing  a  wilderness,  found  time  also  to  rear 


SENATE    HOUSE,    KINGSTON-ON-HUDSON,    X.    V. 

Exemplifying    early    Dutch    peculiarities.      Built    1676. 


Copyright,  1U12,  by  Baldwin  (JouliUte. 
WARD    HOUSE,    NEAR    SALEM,    MASS. 
Characteristic  of  seventeenth  century   New   England  type. 


HOUSE    AT    YOKKTOWN,    VA. 

Showing    steep    pitch    roof    and    outside    chimneys    proper    to    the     Southern 

Colonial   style. 


EXTERIOR     OF    THE    LEE    HOUSE,    MARHLEHEAD,    MASS. 
Representative   of   the   second   phase   of    New    England    Georgian.      Built    1768. 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

a  vast  aggregate  of  structures,  both  domestic 
and  public,  that  to-day  command  our  un- 
feigned admiration  and  are  fit  to  afford  us  no 
small  degree  of  inspiration  for  our  own  archi- 
tectural guidance. 

But  we  must  turn  also  to  another  aspect  of 
the  subject  and  consider  the  architecture  of 
Colonial  America  from  a  more  purely  technical 
point  of  view  as  well.  The  historical  side  of  the 
question,  embracing  social  and  economic  rela- 
tions, it  must  be  remembered,  however,  is 
vastly  important  and  will  conduce  to  a  more 
intelligent  grasp  of  the  whole  situation.  In- 
deed, without  adequate  historical  knowledge, 
many  architectural  phases  will  be  inexplicable 
of  character  or  origin.  As  an  example  we  may 
cite  the  New  England  frame  tradition.  Blood 
tells  in  architecture  quite  as  much  as  it  does  any- 
where else  and  unless  we  know  the  history  of 
the  early  colonists,  unless,  in  fact,  we  know  their 
historical  antecedents  in  England,  we  cannot 
expect  to  understand  fully  their  hereditary 
preference  for  timber  buildings.  Thus  we  see 
that  history  and  architectural  expression  go 
hand  in  hand  and  one  must  study  both  to  have 
a  full  comprehension  of  either. 

Keeping  ever  before  us,  then,  the  full  sig- 
nificance of  history,  we  shall  examine  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  Colonial  period  in  a  far  more 
sympathetic    and    intelligent    spirit    than    we 


6    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

could  possibly  expect  to  do  if  we  were  to  elimi- 
nate the  historical  background.  Of  course,  in 
the  present  volume  the  historical  background 
must  be  a  background,  architectural  matters 
must  have  the  preponderance  of  attention  and 
history,  however  fascinating  it  may  be,  must 
be  referred  to  only  to  elucidate  architectural 
phases. 

Near  akin  and  closely  linked  to  understand- 
ing is  the  quality  of  appreciation  and  it  is  neces- 
sary for  us  to  understand  our  architectural 
past  that  we  may  fully  appreciate  it.  It  is 
likewise  absolutely  essential  for  us  to  under- 
stand and  appreciate  our  architectural  past 
in  order  that  we  may  appreciate  our  architec- 
tural present.  A  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  work  and  ability  of  the  architect  who  reared 
the  buildings  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  will  give  us  a  truer  perspective  and 
better  enable  us  to  judge  the  merits  of  con- 
temporary performances.  Widespread  intelli- 
gent appreciation  inevitably  leads  to  the  better- 
ment of  public  taste,  so  that  our  study  of  the 
past  is  bound  to  have  a  favourable  reflex  ac- 
tion upon  the  architectural  activities  of  our 
own  day. 

Twin  sister  to  appreciation  is  discrimination 
and  as  we  appreciate  the  architecture  of  Colo- 
nial America  we  shall  also  learn  to  discriminate 
between  the  different  local  manifestations  and 


INTRODUCTORY  7 

attribute  each  to  its  proper  origins.  In  this 
connexion  a  word  of  explanation  should  be 
offered  in  answer  to  a  question  that  some 
readers,  no  doubt,  have  already  asked  them- 
selves regarding  the  title  chosen  for  this  volume 
—  "Why  was  it  not  called  Colonial  Archi- 
tecture in  America?"  Solely  because  such  a 
title  would  have  been  misleading.  Indeed, 
there  is  no  more  commonly  misapplied  term 
than  "Colonial  Architecture."  Colonial 
America  had  two  varieties  of  architecture,  one 
of  which  is  correctly  called  Colonial  and  the 
other  is  not.  The  one  is  entirely  distinct  from 
the  other  and  it  is  mischievous  to  confound  them. 
The  second  variety  is  Georgian  and  it  is  illogi- 
cal and  indefensible  to  call  it  anything  but 
Georgian.  The  Colonial  architecture  evolved 
its  distinctive  forms  in  America  subject  to  the 
dictates  of  local  necessity  while  the  Georgian 
was  directly  transplanted  from  England  and, 
although  it  showed  marked  tendencies  to  dif- 
ferentiation in  the  several  parts  of  the  Colonies, 
preserved  its  unmistakable  likeness  in  every 
instance  to  the  parent  stock  from  which  it 
sprang. 

The  Colonial  architecture  which  is  really 
Colonial  presents  several  distinctly  different 
forms  of  local  manifestation,  each  of  them 
pronouncedly  characteristic.  One  form  is  to 
be  found  in  New  England,  and  outside  of  New 


8     THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

England  it  is  not  to  be  met  with.  Another  type, 
of  wholly  diverse  aspect,  is  peculiar  to  the 
parts  of  New  York  State  settled  at  an  early 
period  by  the  Dutch  colonists  and  to  the  parts 
of  Long  Island  and  northern  New  Jersey  where 
Dutch  influence  was  paramount.  Still  another 
and  altogether  distinct  Colonial  type  of  archi- 
tecture is  to  be  seen  in  numerous  examples  in 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  A 
fourth  type,  with  yet  other  clearly  defined 
peculiarities,  may  occasionally  be  discovered 
in  Maryland,  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  The 
scarcity  of  examples  of  true  Colonial  architec- 
ture in  the  last-named  section  is  explicable  by 
the  fact  that  the  southern  planter,  when  his 
wealth  increased,  chose  to  live  in  more  sump- 
tuous manner  than  his  first  built  dwelling  per- 
mitted. He  therefore  built  himself  a  stately 
Georgian  house,  better  suited  to  the  more  ele- 
gant style  and  equipage  he  now  found  himself 
able  to  maintain.  The  "fair  brick  house"  in 
Georgian  mode,  with  porticoes  and  pillars,  often 
stood  upon  the  site  of  the  earlier  house,  which 
was  either  partially  incorporated  with  it  or 
demolished  to  make  way  for  it  because  the  first 
chosen  location  was  the  most  eligible  on  the 
estate  and  best  suited  the  fancy  of  the  owner. 

All  these  types  of  Colonial  architecture  pos- 
sess an  healthy,  indigenous  flavour  that  smacks 
of  the  manly  vigour  and  robust  hardihood  of 


INTRODUCTORY  9 

the  pioneers  who  had  the  courage  and  the  initia- 
tive to  forsake  their  wonted  paths  of  comfort 
and  known  conditions  at  home  and  face  unflinch- 
ingly the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  an  untamed 
wilderness  as  the  founders  of  a  settlement 
whose  future  was  by  no  means  assured  and  of 
whose  ultimate  greatness  they  little  dreamed. 
This  tone  of  staunch,  native  originality  was 
due  to  the  local  forms,  evolved  in  response  to 
local  exigencies,  dictated  by  resourceful  mother- 
wit  and  engrafted  upon  an  inherited  stock  of 
architectural  traditions  which  the  first  settlers, 
hailing  from  this  or  that  part  of  the  old  world, 
had  brought  hither  with  them.  In  other  words, 
it  was  the  logical  and  necessary  outcome  of 
architectural  precedent,  modified  by  contact 
with  a  new  environment,  and  all  its  forms  are 
clearly  traceable  to  typical  antecedents  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Edward  Eggleston 
has  somewhere  said  that  "it  is  difficult  for  the 
mind  of  man  to  originate,  even  in  a  new  hemi- 
sphere." He  is  oftentimes  coerced  into  origi- 
nality by  force  of  circumstances.  So  it  was 
in  our  early  architectural  efforts.  The  first 
settlers  followed  tradition  so  far  as  they  could 
and  essayed  original  departures  only  under 
stress  of  necessity  or  expediency. 

While  the  several  forms  were  full  of  the  grace 
that  was  inherent  in  the  early  builders'  spirit 
of  construction  and  design,  they  were  also  strong 


10    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

because  they  were  so  thoroughly  utilitarian 
and  because  nearly  every  feature  was  produced 
in  response  to  some  specific  local  need.  The 
vital  quality  of  the  early  and  truly  Colonial 
architecture  has  not  been  exhausted  and  after 
nearly  three  hundred  years  we  turn  to  it  to  find 
it  still  rich  in  adaptability  to  many  of  our 
present  requirements.  Owing  to  its  essentially 
utilitarian  characteristics,  Colonial  architecture 
in  all  its  forms  is  wholly  unpretentious,  informal, 
and,  one  might  almost  say,  fortuitous,  but  it 
suited  the  manners  and  estate  of  the  majority 
of  the  people  for  whom  it  was  devised. 

On  the  other  hand,  formality,  as  an  element 
in  American  architecture,  came  in  with  the 
advent  of  the  Georgian  influence.  For  the 
most  part  it  was  not  a  chilling,  hard,  rigid 
formality  but  rather  the  formality  of  ordered 
symmetry  and  concurrence  with  the  elegant 
genius  and  refinement  of  classic  architectural 
conventions.  It  was,  if  one  chooses  so  to  put 
it,  formality  tempered  with  domesticity  and 
common  sense.  The  American  colonists  of  the 
eighteenth  century  adopted  the  Georgian  style, 
when  they  were  able  to  afford  it  and  had  ac- 
quired the  desire  for  it,  and  adapted  it  to  their 
own  ends.  These  adaptations  took  shape  in 
divergent  forms  in  the  several  parts  of  the 
Colonies,  exhibiting  certain  local  peculiarities 
in  New  England  and  others  quite  as  distinct 


PINGREE     OR     WHITE     PORTICO,     SALEM,     MASS. 

Showing   the  delicate  detail   and  attenuation   that   came  with   the 

last   Georgian   phase. 


Copyright.  J.  B.  Lipplneott  Co. 
LAUREL    HILL,    FAIRMOUNT    PARK,    PHILADELPHIA. 
Belonging  to  the  second  type  of  Middle  Colonies  Georgian.      Built   i/6i 


TYPICAL    HOUSES.    OLD    HURLEY,    N.    Y. 
With    thick    walls   and    small    eaves. 


ELMENDORF    HOUSE,    OLD    HURLEY,    N.    Y, 
Early    Dutch   type   before   local   modification. 


INTRODUCTORY  11 

in  the  Middle  Colonies  or  the  South.  Notwith- 
standing their  minor  differences,  however,  the 
specimens  of  Georgian  work  in  America  all  bear 
an  unmistakable  family  resemblance  which  pro- 
claims their  common  ancestry  from  a  British 
classic  origin.  The  later  Georgian  work  in 
America  followed  the  later  phases  of  the  style 
as  they  developed  in  England  and  hence  we 
find  a  great  many  variations  attributable  to 
differences  in  date  as  well  as  to  differences  in 
locality,  but  in  all  its  divers  manifestations, 
whether  temporal  or  local,  American  Georgian 
is  true  to  the  spirit  and  traditions  of  its  strongly 
individual  parent  stock  of  inspiration. 

Economic  and  social  conditions  made  possible 
the  introduction  and  development  of  the  Geor- 
gian style  in  America  and  the  same  conditions 
nurtured  and  kept  it  alive  so  long  as  its  influ- 
ence continued  to  dominate  the  public  taste. 
When  its  latest  phase  passed  over  into  the 
forms  of  the  Classic  Revival,  a  new  order  of 
society,  actuated  by  different  ideals,  had  arisen. 
An  era  of  general  peace  and  growing  prosperity 
in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  per- 
mitted and  encouraged  the  colonists  to  pay 
more  heed  to  the  material  amenities  of  life  than 
had  previously  been  their  wont  and  it  was  but 
natural  that,  with  favourable  domestic  condi- 
tions, they  should  seek  to  emulate  the  luxury 
and  more  polished  manner  of  life  obtaining  in 


12     THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  mother  country,  and  the  adoption  of  con- 
temporary British  architectural  modes  was  one 
way  in  which  that  filial  emulation  found  ex- 
pression. When  the  period  of  Georgian  influ- 
ence came  to  an  end  and  the  Classic  Revival 
type  held  the  first  place  in  popular  esteem,  new 
economic,  social  and  political  circumstances 
existed  with  which  the  prevailing  architectu- 
ral mode  was  more  in  keeping.  Widely  dis- 
tributed affluence,  coupled  with  a  general  spirit 
of  independent  self-sufficiency  and  a  disposi- 
tion to  follow  French  inspiration,  found  fit 
environment  in  the  pomposity  of  neo-classic 
settings  whose  vogue  is  mainly  attributable  to 
influences  that  arose  in  the  train  of  the  French 
Revolution,  the  same  influences  that  gave  us 
the  Empire  type  of  furniture  so  largely  copied 
in  both  England  and  America. 

Surveying  thus  the  history  of  architecture  in 
America,  from  the  beginning  of  the  Colonial 
period  down  to  the  end  of  post-Colonial  activity, 
a  continuous  and  logical  process  of  develop- 
ment can  be  traced  of  which  each  succeeding 
phase  was  a  faithful  exponent  of  contemporary 
local  manners  and  modes  of  life.  Truly  indige- 
nous architecture  was  non-existent.  Archi- 
tectural derivations,  modified  and  often  ob- 
scured as  they  were  by  force  of  circumstances, 
are  not  always  obvious  and  occasionally,  in 
order  to  detect  them,  careful  analysis  and  some 


INTRODUCTORY  13 

knowledge  of  history  are  necessary.  Nor  need 
the  student  of  American  architecture  be  per- 
plexed at  discovering  certain  hybrid  types. 
It  is  but  natural  that  such  should  be  evolved 
by  a  resourceful  people  with  a  genius  for  adapta- 
tions and  possessed  of  a  variety  of  models,  a 
combination  of  whose  features  expediency  sug- 
gested. In  spite  of  all  the  bewildering  multi- 
plicity of  manifestations  which  the  architecture 
of  Colonial  America  affords,  the  derivations 
from  hereditary  European  sources  may  be 
identified  by  the  expenditure  of  a  little  effort 
and  the  threads  of  continuity  and  growth  then 
become  clearly  apparent.  A  detailed  elucida- 
tion of  the  genesis  and  progressive  stages  of  the 
several  types  will  be  the  content  of  the  ensuing 
chapters. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   DUTCH   COLONIAL   TYPE 
1613-1820 

THE  Dutch  Colonial  house  is  at  once  a 
mystery  and  a  paradox.  It  is  a  mystery 
because  it  seems  to  defy  the  law  of 
physics  about  two  bodies  occupying  the  same 
space  at  the  same  time.  It  is  a  paradox  be- 
cause, despite  its  apparent  simplicity,  it  is  most 
complex  in  its  texture  and  varied  in  its  modes 
and  expression. 

We  have  all  heard  it  said  of  the  Dutchman's 
breeches  that  they  could  be  made  to  contain 
whatever  objects  could  be  forced  through  the 
pocket  apertures,  and  the  number  of  things  that 
the  Dutchman  could  stow  away  in  the  baggy 
recesses  of  his  nether  garments  has  always 
been  a  source  of  wonder  to  the  foreigner.  It  is 
precisely  the  same  with  his  house.  It  really 
seems  to  be  elastic.  Viewed  from  the  outside, 
it  gives  the  observer  the  impression  that  its 
extent  is  small  and  that  the  space  within  must 
necessarily  be  limited.     On  stepping  across  the 

14 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  15 

threshhold,  however,  a  surprise  awaits  one. 
Room  seems  to  open  out  from  room  in  a  miracu- 
lous manner,  and  there  is  apparently  no  end  to 
the  space  that  can  be  made  within  the  four  walls. 
At  times,  baffling  despair  fills  the  mind  at  the 
attempt  to  master  the  anatomical  intricacies  of 
the  Dutch  abode.  The  early  Dutch  house  is 
practically  all  upon  the  ground  floor,  but  the 
attic,  occasionally,  is  almost  as  complex  in  its 
mysterious  arrangement.  The  Dutchmen  and 
their  wives  were  past  masters  in  ordering  the 
economy  of  space.  The  bulk  of  household 
gear  they  could  stow  away  in  compact  style  al- 
ways excites  our  wondering  admiration.  Per- 
haps their  familiarity  with  canal  boat  life,  and 
the  attendant  necessity  of  compressing  their 
belongings  within  strait  limits,  suggested  many 
of  their  household  arrangements.  At  any  rate, 
the  Dutch  houses  are  a  standing  example  show- 
ing how  much  can  be  done  within  closely  re- 
stricted bounds. 

The  Dutch  house  in  America  is  to  be  found 
in  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  in  Long  Island,  and 
in  the  counties  of  northern  New  Jersey,  par- 
ticularly Bergen  and  Essex,  settled  at  an  early 
period  by  the  Dutch.  The  purest  forms  of 
the  early  type  are  to  be  found  along  the  Hudson. 
In  Long  Island,  certain  modifying  influences 
began  to  work  at  an  early  time  and  in  portions 
of  Long  Island,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood 


16  THE  AKCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

of  Hempstead  and  towards  the  Eastern  end 
of  the  Island,  where  settlements  were  made 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  by 
New  England  colonists,  we  find  a  curious  com- 
bination of  Dutch  and  English  characteristics 
in  the  local  architecture.  In  northern  New 
Jersey,  while  the  type  is  thoroughly  Dutch,  the 
majority  of  houses  are  of  a  somewhat  later 
date  than  those  along  the  Hudson  and  exhibit 
features  not  to  be  found  in  the  houses  erected 
by  the  first  colonists  of  New  Netherlands. 

Notwithstanding  certain  minor  differences 
that  will  be  brought  to  our  notice  by  comparison,, 
there  is  an  unquestionable  continuity  of  type 
that  differentiates  the  houses  of  Dutch  archi- 
tecture from  all  the  other  structural  creations 
of  the  American  colonists.  The  style  of  the  first 
Dutch  houses  contained  within  itself  the  seeds 
of  development,  and  while  the  earliest  expres- 
sion of  Dutch  Colonial  architecture  was  practi- 
cally the  same  as  that  in  vogue  in  Holland  at 
the  time  of  the  colonists'  emigration,  the  later 
examples  disclosed  new  features  which  local 
necessity  and  native  ingenuity  had  suggested 
and  achieved.  By  this  very  flexibility  and 
elasticity  the  Dutch  colonial  style  has  shown 
its  adaptability  to  varying  conditions,  and  in 
that  adaptability  lies  no  small  share  of  its  fitness 
as  a  resource  for  present-day  needs. 

Old   Hurley   near   Kingston-on-Hudson  —  to- 


VAN    DEUSEN    HOl'SE,    OLD    HURLEY, 
r>uilt  early   in   eighteenth   century. 


N.     Y. 


HALLWAY,    VAX    DEUSEX    HOUSE. 


HOFFMAN     HOUSE,    KINGSTON-ON-HUDSON,    N.    Y. 
Built    shortly    after    middle    of    seventeenth    century. 


CHARACTERISTIC    OLD    DUTCH    HOUSE,    KINGSTON-ON-HUDSON, 

N.    Y. 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  17 

select  a  striking  concrete  example  —  discloses 
the  style  in  its  earliest  form.  Although  Hurley 
was  not  settled  until  about  1660,  the  houses 
erected  there  showed  practically  no  departure 
from  the  styles  with  which  the  settlers  were 
familiar  in  Holland  before  their  emigration. 
To  show  their  absolute  fidelity  to  the  traditional 
type  of  Dutch  house,  we  may  refer  to  the  amaze- 
ment created  in  the  mind  of  a  Dutch  diplomat 
who,  when  taken  to  visit  Hurley  two  or  three 
years  ago,  declared  that  it  was  more  Dutch  than 
almost  anything  left  in  Holland.  Ever  since 
its  foundation,  Hurley  has  slumbered  peace- 
fully on,  disturbed  only  at  times  by  Indian 
raids  and  the  alarums  of  war.  Physically  it  has 
changed  scarcely  at  all  since  the  founders  settled 
on  the  rich  lands  by  the  Esopus.  It  is  one  of 
the  backwaters  of  our  civilisation  that  has  pre- 
served intact  the  exterior  aspect  and  much  of 
the  inward  character  of  the  date  of  its  settlement. 
The  lapse  of  time  has  wrought  little  change  in 
its  fabric  and  the  swirling  eddies  of  feverish 
American  progress  have  raced  past  it,  heedless 
of  its  presence,  so  that  it  has  preserved  for  us  a 
refreshing  bit  of  the  days  and  ways  of  the  New 
Netherlands  of  Peter  Stuyvesant  and  his  sturdy 
colleagues. 

Old  Hurley  is  just  as  Dutch  as  Dutch  can 
be;  Dutch  in  its  people,  Dutch  in  its  houses, 
Dutch  in  its  looks,  Dutch  in  everything  but 


18   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

name,  and  that  was  Dutch  for  the  first  few  years 
of  its  history  when  it  was  known  as  Nieuw 
Dorp,  that  is,  New  Village.  To  understand, 
therefore,  the  mode  of  life  and  the  comfortable, 
easy-going  informality  with  which  the  architec- 
tural style  fitted  in,  we  cannot  do  better  than  take 
a  brief  survey  of  this  picturesque  community. 

Hurley  cheeses  and  Kingston  refugees  have 
given  Hurley  most  of  its  renown  in  the  outside 
world.  So  plentiful  and  so  famous,  at  one  time, 
were  the  former,  that  Hurley  was  popularly 
credited  with  having  "cheese  mines."  The 
following  old  Dutch  jingle,  done  into  English 
by  a  local  antiquary,  tells  of  plenty  at  Hurley, 
not  only  of  cheese  but  of  many  other  kinds  of 
foodstuffs  as  well : 

What  shall  we  with  the  wheat  bread  do  ? 

Eat  it  with  the  cheese  from  Hurley. 
What  shall  we  with  the  pancakes  do  ? 

Dip  them  in  the  syrup  of  Hurley. 
What  shall  we  with  the  cornmeal  do 

That  comes  from  round  about  Hurley  ? 
Johnnycake  bake,  both  sweet  and  brown, 

With  green  cream  cheese  from  Hurley. 

Does  not  this  reflect  the  reign  of  peace,  plenty 
and  contentment?  The  old  Dutch,  indeed,  is 
truly  realistic  as  the  question  comes  "Wat 
zullen  wij  met  die  pannekoeken  doen?",  and 
at  the  answer,  "Doop  het  met  die  stroop  van 
Horley,"  one  involuntarily  licks  his  chops  over 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  19 

the  dripping  sweetness  of  "die  s troop."  The 
very  mention  of  cheese  and  cheese  making  brings 
to  the  mind  visions  of  fat  farming  country  with 
sleek  kine  feeding,  knee-deep  in  pastures  of 
heavy-matted  clover,  from  whose  blossoms  the 
bees  are  distilling  their  next  winter's  store. 
Such  a  mental  picture  for  Hurley  town  is  not 
far  amiss.  Lying  in  comfortable  contentment 
in  the  rich  bottoms  along  the  banks  of  the 
Esopus,  its  horizons  both  near  and  far  bounded 
by  the  Catskills  and  their  foot-hills,  it 
approaches  the  ideal  of  bucolic  felicity,  and  one 
freely  admits  that  "Nieuw  Dorp  exists  a  pas- 
toral or  else  Nieuw  Dorp  is  not." 

Comfort,  solid  comfort,  is  the  keynote  of 
Hurley,  indoors  and  out.  Its  houses,  built 
along  the  one  village  street,  their  farm  lands 
stretching  back  beyond  them,  have  an  aspect 
of  substantial  prosperity  and  cheer.  Long,  low 
buildings  they  are,  with  thick  stone  walls,  whose 
roofs  jutting  just  above  the  windows  of  the  first 
floor,  begin  their  climb  to  the  ridge  pole,  enclos- 
ing with  their  shingled  sides  great,  roomy 
garrets  that  seem  like  very  Noah's  arks,  with 
everything  under  the  sun  stowed  away  in  their 
recesses.  Such  portion  of  this  second  floor  as 
the  old  Dutchmen  saw  fit  to  spare  from  storage 
purposes,  they  made  into  chambers  for  their 
families,  and  pierced  the  roof  slope  with  tiny 
dormers.     Oftentimes,  however,  the  only  light 


20   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

came  in  at  the  gable  ends,  through  windows 
on  each  side  of  the  massive  chimneys.  It  was 
not  at  all  unusual  to  give  over  the  whole  upper 
floor  to  the  storage  of  grain  and  other  food 
supplies,  while  the  family  lived  altogether  below 
on  the  ground  floor.  The  cellars  were  not  one 
whit  behind  the  garrets  in  holding  supplies. 
The  people  of  New  Netherland  were  valiant 
trenchermen  before  whose  eyes  the  pleasures 
of  the  table  loomed  large,  and  they  used  up  an 
amazing  lot  of  victuals.  Such  overflowing  store 
of  potatoes  and  carrots,  turnips,  pumpkins  and 
apples  as  went  into  those  cavernous  bins ! 
Rolliches  and  headcheeses  were  there  a-many, 
with  sausages,  scrapple,  pickles  and  preserves, 
to  say  nothing  of  barrels  of  cyder.  These  all 
contributed  their  share  to  the  odour  of  plenty 
that  rose  up  through  the  chinks  and  pervaded 
the  rooms  above.  Only  those  who  have  met 
them  face  to  face,  in  all  their  substantial  cor- 
poreality, can  realise  the  indescribable  cellar 
smells  of  old  Dutch  farmhouses.  Everywhere 
economy  of  space  was  practised,  and  things 
were  tucked  away  in  all  sorts  of  odd  corners. 
Some  of  the  bedchambers  were  scarcely  as 
large  as  a  steamer  stateroom,  and  these  oft  times 
had  little  pantry  closets  beside  the  bed  —  a 
truly  convenient  arrangement  for  those  dis- 
posed to  midnight  pantry  raids.  Tradition  says 
that  the  good  people  of  Hurley  even  took  their 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  21 

cheeses  to  bed  with  them  that  the  heat  of  their 
bodies  might  help  to  ripen  them. 

Hurley's  gardens  were,  and  are,  a  source  of 
genuine  delight.  They  are  charmingly  incon- 
sequent and  unconventional.  There  is  not  a 
jot  of  plan  or  pretence  about  them.  Hurley 
vegetables  grow  side  by  side  with  gentle  flowers 
in  a  most  democratic  promiscuity.  Cabbages 
and  cucumbers  rub  elbows  with  roses  and  lilies. 
Plebeian  sunflowers  and  four-o' clocks  stand 
unabashed  beside  patrician  boxwood  and  blooms 
of  high  degree,  while  onions  and  lavender,  in 
sweet  accord,  send  their  roots  into  the  common 
ground  within  a  foot  of  each  other.  The  Dutch 
gardens,  if  not  grand,  are,  at  least,  comfortable 
and  useful,  and  have  an  air  of  sociability  about 
them  that  puts  one  immediately  at  ease. 

What  the  people  were  in  Holland,  that  were 
they  in  New  Netherland,  and  what  they  were 
elsewhere  in  New  Netherland,  that  were  they 
in  Hurley  only,  perhaps,  somewhat  more  con- 
servative and  tenacious  of  old  customs  and  ideas, 
as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  in  places  remote  from 
the  active  scene  of  events.  The  Dutch  of  the 
Hudson  were  not  the  slow,  stupid,  fat-witted 
louts  that  Washington  Irving  and  his  copyists 
pourtray,  although,  to  us  of  English  blood, 
many  of  their  ways  seem  strange,  and  some 
amusing.  They  were  broad-minded,  alert, 
wholesome,  human  people  who  took  life  pleas- 


22   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

antly  and  got  whole-souled  enjoyment  in  their 
frequent  festivals.  They  were  incapable  of 
stiff  formality,  and  the  architecture  of  their 
houses  was  exactly  suited  to  their  mode  of  life. 
When  we  remember  how  tenaciously  the 
English  settlers  clung  to  tradition  in  selecting 
the  materials  for  their  houses,  those  in  New  Eng- 
land holding  by  the  timber  tradition  while 
the  stone  and  brick  tradition  prevailed  in  the 
Middle  Colonies  and  the  South,  one  might  expect 
to  find  among  the  Dutch  colonists  the  same 
adherence  to  Dutch  traditions  in  the  case  of 
materials,  especially  as  the  early  Dutch  houses 
so  closely  followed  their  prototypes  in  Holland. 
In  this  respect,  however,  the  Dutchman  made  a 
virtue  of  necessity  and  quickly  learned  to  be 
governed  by  expediency,  using  with  good  effect 
whatever  materials  the  locality  most  readily 
provided.  Although  brick  was  in  most  cases 
the  hereditary  material  which  Dutchmen  might 
have  been  expected  to  prefer,  with  natural 
thrift  and  common  sense  they  used  stone  when 
bricks  were  not  to  be  had,  or  wood  when  they 
could  not  get  stone.  Thus,  for  instance,  we 
find  the  early  Dutch  houses  of  the  Hudson 
Valley  built  of  stone.  Those  in  northern  New 
Jersey  were  likewise  built  of  stone  of  different 
colour  and  character  from  that  found  in  the  Hud- 
son region.  Again,  in  Long  Island,  where  stone 
was  not  available,  they  built  of  wood  and  cov- 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  23 

ered  their  houses  with  shingles,  often  leaving 
as  much  as  fourteen  inches  to  the  weather. 
Dutch  quickness  in  utilising  readily  available 
material  is  also  seen  in  the  willingness  to  use 
field  stone  for  walls,  while  the  New  Englander, 
despite  the  abundance  of  the  same  material, 
merely  used  it  for  the  divisions  between  his 
fields. 

Furthermore,  the  Dutchman  did  not  restrict 
himself  to  any  one  material  for  the  whole 
fabric  of  his  house.  He  was  not  in  the  least 
averse  to  using  a  variety  of  materials  in  the  same 
building  and  this  he  often  did  with  excellent 
effect.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  find  two  or 
three  materials  used  for  several  parts  of  the 
same  small  building,  and  it  is  not  a  hard  matter 
to  find  instances  in  which  stone,  brick,  stucco, 
clapboards  and  shingles  all  occur  in  the  one 
structure  and  the  result  is  usually  felicitous, 
possibly,  perhaps,  because  of  the  naivete  with 
which  the  several  materials  are  employed,  ne- 
cessity and  common  sense  being  obviously  the 
causes  dictating  their  presence. 

The  stone  used  was  sometimes  carefully 
squared  and  dressed  and,  at  others,  the  walls 
were  of  rubble  construction  without  any  attempt 
at  careful  arrangement.  Occasionally  the  front 
of  the  house  would  be  of  dressed  stone  laid  in 
orderly  courses  while  the  sides  and  back  showed 
rubble    walls.     Then,    again,    where    circum- 


24   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

stances  permitted,  brick  quoins  and  window 
and  door  trims,  as  in  the  Manor  House  at 
Croton-on-Hudson,  might  be  used  while  the 
body  of  the  walls  was  rubble.  In  this  connex- 
ion it  should  be  staged  that  the  walls  were 
carefully  laid  so  that  the  stonework  would  hold 
together  without  much  dependence  being  placed 
on  the  mortar,  for  the  earliest  mortar  was  of 
rather  poor  quality.  In  this  respect  the  mason- 
work  approached  the  ideal  of  a  good  wall  con- 
struction. % 

When  stucco  was  used  it  was  generally  plas- 
tered over  a  rough  stone  surface  and  whitewashed 
or  washed  with  some  colour.  When  this  stucco 
is  removed  it  will  often  be  found  that  the  wall 
underneath  is  of  admirable  rubble  construc- 
tion and  that  the  stucco  coating  was  appar- 
ently added  as  a  ground  work  for  white  or 
coloured  wash.  Some  years  ago,  the  stucco 
coat  was  removed  from  the  walls  of  the  Manor 
House  at  Croton-on-Hudson,  and  the  stone  walls 
beneath  presented  a  far  more  interesting  sur- 
face than  the  plaster,  which  seems  to  have  been 
added  at  a  date  considerably  subsequent  to  that 
of  original  construction. 

An  examination  in  detail  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  earliest  Dutch  houses  discloses  the  fol- 
lowing features  of  importance.  As  previously 
stated,  almost  all  the  houses  were  low,  the  eaves 
coming  down  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  tops 


ACKERMAN    (BRINCKERHOFF)    HOUSE,    HACKEXSACK,    X.   J.     ,704. 
Local   adaptations   have   begun    to   develop. 


VERPI.AXCK     HOUSE,     XEAR    FISHKILL     LANDING,    X.    V. 

Showing    genesis    of    porch    from    eave    extension. 


HALL,    BOWNE    HOUSE,    FLUSHING,    LONG    ISLAND,    N.    Y. 

With   typical  woodwork. 


DINING     ROOM,     VAN     CORTLANDT     MANOR     HOUSE,     CROTOX 

ON-HUDSON,    N.    Y. 

With  Dutch  interpretation  of  Georgian  motifs  on  mantel. 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  25 

of  the  first-floor  windows.  In  many  instances, 
the  roofs  were  unbroken  by  dormers  as  the 
garrets  were  used  largely  for  storage  purposes 
and  the  bedchambers  were  on  the  ground  floor. 
If  families  were  large,  one  or  two  bedrooms 
would  be  partitioned  off  in  the  garret,  the  major 
part,  however,  being  reserved  for  the  storage 
of  grains,  household  effects,  and  various  sup- 
plies. Even  then,  the  roofs  were  not  inter- 
rupted by  windows  but  the  light  would  come 
from  windows  in  the  gable  ends  beside  the 
chimneys.  In  many  cases  the  stone  walls  at 
the  gable  ends  did  not  rise  above  the  line  of  the 
eaves  and  the  portion  above  that  would  be  hung 
with  clapboards.  Of  course  there  were-  in- 
stances in  which  houses  rose  to  a  greater  height 
and  contained  second  floors  as  a  visible  part 
of  the  plan.  Such  was  the  old  Hoffman  House  in 
Kings ton-on-Hudson,  built  not  long  after  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  also,  that,  in  that  case,  the  stonework  in 
the  gable  ends  was  continued  to  the  top  of  the 
gable  and  there  was  no  wall  of  overlapping 
clapboards. 

The  earliest  houses  were  covered  with  roofs 
of  the  ordinary  ridge  type  and  presented  the 
appearance  outwardly  of  one-storey  buildings, 
though  in  effect  they  often  contained  two  floors. 
The  gambrel  roof  of  the  Dutch  houses  was 
of  later  evolution  and  was  probably  suggested 


26  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

by  force  of  circumstances.  The  gambrel  con- 
struction made  it  possible  to  give  more  room 
in  the  garrets  so  that  chambers  could  be  accom- 
modated with  greater  ease  and  there  would  not 
be  so  much  waste  room  just  inside  the  eaves, 
as  the  slope  of  the  roof  was  at  a  steeper  angle. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  gambrel  roof 
came  into  being  as  an  ingenious  method  of  beat- 
ing the  devil  around  the  bush,  when  a  tax  was 
laid  upon  houses  of  more  than  one  storey  in 
height.  Technically  and  legally  the  gambrel 
roof  house  was  but  one  storey  high  although,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  gambrel  made  it  possible 
to  have  an  additional  storey  in  the  roof  which 
served  all  practical  purposes  quite  as  fully  as 
though  the  walls  had  been  carried  up  to  enclose 
a  second  floor.  In  the  older  Dutch  houses 
with  gambrel  roofs,  the  pitch  is  never  steep  and 
the  contour  presents  somewhat  the,  lines  of  a 
flaring  bell. 

Although  the  gambrel  roof  was  known  in 
New  England  as  early  perhaps  as  1670  and 
was,  in  all  probability,  borrowed  from  the 
Dutch,  there  is  a  wide  difference  in  appearance 
between  New  England  and  Dutch  gambrels. 
Generally  speaking,  the  New  England  gambrels 
have  the  pitch  from  the  eaves  much  steeper 
and  shorter  while  the  top  pitch  is  longer  than 
in  the  Dutch  houses.  In  the  Dutch  gambrel 
roof,    on   the   other   hand,    the    steeper    slope 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  27 

usually  makes  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees, 
or  less,  and  is  by  far  the  longer,  while  the  top 
slope  is  quite  short  and  has  an  angle  of  about 
25  degrees.  This  difference  in  angle  gives  the 
Dutch  gambrel  roofs  a  rarely  beautiful  quality, 
especially  when  the  lower  end  of  the  long  slope 
just  above  the  eaves  was  made  with  a  kickup 
to  avoid  darkening  the  windows  or  possibly 
to  throw  the  rain-water  farther  away  from 
the  walls.  Whatever  may  be  the  origin  of  the 
gambrel, —  and  many  ingenious  theories  have 
been  suggested  —  whether  it  originated  as  pre- 
viously suggested,  to  avoid  the  tax  on  two-sto- 
reyed dwellings,  or  whether  the  desire  to  in- 
crease the  breadth  of  the  span,  by  piecing  out 
rafters,  was  the  underlying  cause,  it  is  an  ex- 
ceptionally agreeable  form  of  house  covering 
and  so  closely  associated  with  the  dwellings 
of  the  *  Dutch  Colonial  period  that  we  may 
properly  identify  it  as  a  characteristic  feature 
of  that  style. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  roofs,  the  devel- 
opment of  the  wide-projecting  eaves,  as  we  find 
them  in  the  New  Jersey  and  some  of  the  Dutch 
Long  Island  houses  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
must  be  considered.  The  earliest  Dutch  houses 
as,  for  example,  those  at  Kingston  or  Hurley 
had  not  the  flaring  eaves.  Neither  had  the 
earliest  Dutch  houses  in  New  Jersey.  It  has 
been  ingeniously  suggested  that  the  projection 


28   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

was  evolved  to  protect  the  walls  and  prevent  the 
rain  from  disintegrating  the  mortar  which,  in 
the  early  part  of  the  Colonial  period,  was  fre- 
quently not  of  as  good  quality  as  it  was  later. 
This  theory  would  seem  to  explain,  to  some 
extent,  the  habit  of  carrying  the  masonry  at 
the  gable  ends  only  to  the  height  of  the  first 
floor  joists,  filling  in  the  space  between  that  line 
and  the  peak  of  the  gable  with  clapboards.  In 
such  cases,  where  the  mortar  of  the  exposed 
gable  walls  was  damaged  by  the  weather,  it  was 
an  easy  matter  to  re-point.  Mr.  Embury  has 
still  further  suggested,  coincidentally  with  this 
theory,  that  the  desire  to  protect  the  ma- 
sonry suggested  the  penthouses  on  two-storeyed 
structures.  There  is  something  to  be  said 
both  for  and  against  this  hypothesis,  but  as 
the  discussion  does  not  materially  affect  the 
subject  immediately  before  us  it  must  be  re- 
served for  another  place. 

To  the  Dutch  Colonial  house  may  probably 
be  attributed  the  origin  of  that  essentially 
American  institution,  the  porch,  or  at  least  one 
form  of  the  porch  as  we  now  have  it.  "The 
porch  has  been  evolved  and  developed  in  re- 
sponse to  a  distinct  and  manifest  need  in  our 
mode  of  life  imposed  by  climatic  conditions. 
It  falls  in  with  our  habits  bred  of  love  of  out- 
doors; our  seasons  invite,  nay  even,  at  times, 
compel  its  use.     True,  the  porch  has  its  proto- 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  29 

type  in  certain  architectural  features  found  in 
England  and  on  the  Continent  (especially  in 
some  of  the  Southern  countries),  but,  as  we  now 
have  it,  it  is  a  peculiarly  national  affair  and  its 
evolution  has  been  due  to  American  ingenuity 
in  an  effort  to  meet  the  demands  of  local  require- 
ments. The  earliest  American  houses,  from 
New  England  to  the  Southern  Colonies,  faithful 
to  prevailing  precedent  and  tradition,  had  no 
porches,  porches,  that  is,  as  we  ordinarily  under- 
stand the  term.  It  was  only  as  our  domestic 
-architecture  developed  along  lines  marked  out 
and  prompted  by  peculiarly  American  condi- 
tions and  needs  that  precedents  were  forsaken, 
adaptations  made,  and  porches  appeared,  at 
first  in  a  rudimentary  and  tentative  form  and 
then  finally,  after  the  lapse  of  years,  reached 
the  full  fruition  of  their  growth  in  the  form  famil- 
iar to  us.  That  growth  varied  widely  in  the 
course  it  followed,  according  to  the  several 
sections  of  the  country  and  consequent  diverse 
requirements  and  preferences,"  but  one  form 
at  least  may  be  traced  to  the  growth  of  plans  in 
the  houses  of  the  Dutch  Colonial  type.  This 
growth  started  with  the  projecting  eaves  at 
the  front  which,  eventually,  were  carried  out 
long  enough  to  make  a  porch  roof  and  supported 
at  their  edge  by  pillars  or  columns.  An  excel- 
lent example  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  piazza 
of  the  Manor  House  at  Croton-on-Hudson  where 


30   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  flaring  slope  of  the  roof  is  thus  carried  out 
and  forms  a  porch  covering.  The  same  process 
may  be  traced  in  some  of  the  later  Dutch  houses 
of  New  Jersey  and  Long  Island. 

Almost  synchronously  with  the  development 
of  the  porch  as  a  distinct  feature,  we  find  a  ten- 
dency to  carry  the  walls  a  trifle  higher  and  pierce 
them  with  a  row  of  small,  low  windows  above 
the  porch  roof  and  immediately  below  the  line 
of  the  eaves  which  have  now  become  distinct, 
the  porch  roof  being  cut  off  and  made  an  inde- 
pendent member.  These  low  windows,  which 
were  usually  on  a  line  a  few  inches  above  the 
floor  inside  have  been  rather  facetiously  called 
* '  lie-on-y  our-stomach  windows . '  * 

The  doorway  of  the  early  Dutch  houses  was 
not  a  feature  of  any  architectural  pretension. 
It  was  approached  by  one  or  two  steps  only,, 
as  the  houses  were  close  to  the  ground,  and 
sometimes  a  small  platform,  or  a  stoop  with 
settles  on  either  side,  gave  an  inviting  appear- 
ance indicative  of  the  hospitality  within.  The 
doorway  was  rectangular  without  attempt  at 
adornment  further  than  occasionally  a  narrow 
transom  with  small,  square  lights.  Even  this 
was  often  lacking.  The  Dutch  door  divided 
in  the  middle  shared  the  honours  with  solid, 
undivided  batten  doors.  Both  types  were  in 
common  use,  although  preference  was  given  the 
Dutch  or  divided  door  for  the  main  entrance 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  31 

and  the  corresponding  back  entrance  at  the 
opposite  end  of  the  hall. 

As  the  Dutch  Colonial  style  developed  in  the 
eighteenth  century  more  attention  was  paid  to 
the  adornment  of  the  entrance  and  about  the 
time  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  which  made  the 
Colonists  more  fully  aware  of  each  other's 
presence  and  served  to  spread  and  popularise 
ideas,  we  find  that  Georgian  motifs  were  bor- 
rowed and  adapted  to  local  needs  with  a  broad 
freedom  of  treatment  that  imparted  a  good  deal 
of  individuality  to  them  and  removed  them  at 
times  almost  altogether  from  the  Georgian 
category  from  which  the  first  inspiration  had 
sprung.  Up  to  this  time  the  Dutch  Colonial 
type  had  been  singularly  free  from  the  working 
of  outside  influences  and  had  developed  inde- 
pendently along  lines  suggested  by  its  inherent 
qualities.  But  even  after  this  infusion  of  Geor- 
gian feeling  the  treatment  was  so  typical  and 
original  that  the  newly  introduced  and  adapted 
motifs  were  perfectly  congruous  with  the  parent 
stock  upon  which  they  had  been  engrafted. 

Finally,  in  making  the  survey  of  the  dis- 
tinctive exterior  features  of  the  Dutch  Colonial 
style,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  dormers, 
which  so  frequently  appear,  were  not  charac- 
teristic of  the  earliest  dwellings  but  were  a  later 
development  dictated  by  expediency  when  it 
was  found  desirable  to  use  more  fully  the  attics 


32  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

for  sleeping  rooms  than  was  customary  in  the 
earliest  houses,  where  all  the  light  necessary 
was  admitted  from  the  gable  ends  and  where 
the  attics  were  storerooms  and  workshops  for 
domestic  operations  such  as  weaving  and  spin- 
ning, often  carried  on  by  the  slaves. 

Ordinarily  the  Dutch  house  in  ground  plan 
was  a  long  rectangle  with  an  ell  extension  at  one 
end.  Oftentimes  the  roof  of  this  ell  extension 
swept  down  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  ground. 
There  was  no  attempt  at  symmetry  of  plan  in 
the  arrangement  of  these  houses  but  the  walls 
were  pierced  with  doors  and  windows  wherever 
convenience  dictated  their  presence.  The  Dutch 
house  was  almost  invariably  set  close  to  the 
ground  and  it  is  this  fact,  together  with  their 
restful  roof  lines,  that  gives  so  many  of  the  old 
Dutch  dwellings  their  aspect  of  thorough  repose. 
As  stated  before,  the  Dutch  preferred  to  live 
downstairs  and  only  used  the  attic  for  bedcham- 
bers when  force  of  circumstances  made  it  neces- 
sary. The  two  chief  rooms  of  the  house  were 
the  kitchen  and  the  best  parlour.  In  the  one, 
not  only  was  the  cooking  done  but  all  the  ordi- 
nary household  life  of  the  establishment  was 
concentrated  and  there  the  family  both  played 
and  worked.  In  the  other  the  household  gods 
were  stored  away  and  the  best  furniture  and 
china  of  all  sorts  were  displayed  in  proud  array. 
Ordinarily  a  wide  hall  ran  through  the  house 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  33 

from  front  door  to  back  door  and  the  rooms 
were  on  either  side  of  this.  Small  bedrooms 
were  tucked  away  back  of  the  parlour  and 
kitchen,  while  sometimes  a  great  living  room 
took  the  place  of  the  kitchen  on  one  side  of  the 
hall  and  the  kitchen  was  pushed  into  the  ell 
extension  at  the  rear.  Thanks  to  the  lack  of 
formality  in  the  plan  of  the  Dutch  house,  it 
was  capable  of  indefinite  growth  and  in  that 
respect  the  architecture  was  profoundly  affected 
by  the  mode  of  life  of  the  occupants.  It 
not  infrequently  happened  that  a  larger  addi- 
tion was  built  to  the  old  houses  and  this 
addition  was  again  added  to  by  another  smaller 
addition  when  a  married  son  or  daughter  came 
home  to  live  and  share  the  protection  of  the 
paternal  rooftree. 

The  stairway  in  the  majority  of  Dutch  Colo- 
nial houses  was  not  an  important  feature  and 
was  not  made  much  of.  It  merely  led  to  the 
attic  where  some  of  the  children  or  servants 
slept,  if  there  was  not  room  enough  below  stairs, 
and  where  all  sorts  of  materials  and  provisions 
were  stored  or  where  spinning  and  weaving  were 
done.  Consequently,  little  decoration  was  be- 
stowed upon  it.  The  hand-rail  might  or  might 
not  be  of  mahogany  and  supported  on  straight, 
slender  spindles.  It  was  often  boxed  in  to 
prevent  the  heat  from  rising  to  the  attic  and 
thus  being  lost. 


34  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

The  chief  feature  in  the  old  Dutch  rooms  was 
the  fireplace,  and  many  of  these  old  fireplaces 
are  of  cavernous  proportions.  The  chimney 
breast  almost  invariably  extended  well  into 
the  room  and  the  spaces  on  either  side  were 
often  filled  with  built-in  cupboards,  or  else  with 
deeply  embayed  window  seats.  Very  little  at- 
tempt at  decoration  was  made  in  the  panelling 
of  the  over-mantels  and  indeed  there  was  often 
no  panelling  at  all  but  the  rough  plaster  of  the 
wall  was  whitewashed.  The  walls  were  exceed- 
ingly thick,  often  two  feet  or  more,  and  this 
gave  deep  reveals  to  the  windows.  All  the 
woodwork  in  the  earlier  houses  was  ordinarily 
plain  and  was  usually  painted  a  spotless  white 
as  it  so  often  was  in  Holland  and  this  made 
a  striking  background  for  the  hinges,  latches, 
bolts  and  other  hardware  whose  decorative 
value  the  Dutch  thoroughly  appreciated  and 
which  they  accordingly  fashioned  in  graceful 
shapes.  It  was  not  until  a  later  period,  towards 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  later, 
that  any  attempt  was  made  to  embellish  the 
woodwork  by  carving  or  turning  and  even  then 
the  adornment  often  consisted  of  only  simple 
but  well-proportioned  mouldings.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  when  the  Geor- 
gian influence,  particularly  in  its  Adam  phase, 
began  to  be  strongly  felt,  one  finds  adaptations 
of  current  motifs  such  as  oval  fans,  swags,  drops, 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  35 

flutings,  reedings,  sunbursts  and  divers  other 
decorative  forms  in  vogue  at  the  period.  All 
of  them  however  were  handled  with  a  surprising 
degree  of  freedom  and  independent  of  English 
precedents  and  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
used  seems  to  be  thoroughly  original.  It  is 
at  this  period  of  elaborated  woodwork  that  we 
also  find  the  doorway  assuming  importance  as  a 
decorative  feature  of  the  house.  Slender  turned 
columns  —  some  of  them  ought  rather  to  be 
called  spindles  —  were  added  at  the  sides,  occa- 
sionally there  were  glass  side  lights  with  leaded 
tracery  and  fanlights  in  elliptical  door  heads 
or  tracery  in  square  transoms  were  all  used  to 
add  a  note  of  state  to  the  doorway  that  had 
hitherto  been  very  plain  and  unpretentious.  In 
the  fanlights,  as  well  as  in  the  side  lights,  it 
was  not  unusual  for  the  tracery  to  be  formed 
in  delicately-moulded  lead  work.  In  a  very 
able  study  of  ornamental  detail  of  the  older 
Dutch  houses  by  John  T.  Boyd,  Jr.,  published 
in  The  Architectural  Record,  the  author  says : 
"The  first  thing  one  notices  about  these  details 
is  their  freedom.  It  is  an  architecture  abso- 
lutely without  orders.  In  some  rare  cases, 
there  are  mantels  with  little  Tuscan  columns, 
but  they  are  not  among  the  finest  examples 
and  are  found  side  by  side  with  freer  forms. 
The  over-mantels  often  .  .  .  show  a  very  rare 
use  of  fluted  pilasters. 


36   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

"A  freer  and  very  exquisite  channelling  was 
often  used,  which  is  found  in  many  houses  with 
slight  variations.  The  theory  of  all  these 
Dutch  mouldings  is  a  series  of  many  fine  parallel 
lines  and  shadows  made  by  hollows,  beads,  and 
fillets,  beautifully  varied  in  proportion,  all  very 
delicate  in  scale." 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  interior  woodwork 
was  generally  painted  white  and  that  the  rough 
walls  were  ordinarily  whitewashed,  but  while 
speaking  of  the  paint  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  Dutch  had  a  wonderful  eye  for  colour 
and,  though  the  interiors  of  their  houses  pre- 
sented an  aspect  of  spotless  white,  the  exteriors 
rejoiced  in  chromatic  brilliancy  that  at  times 
was  positively  dazzling  and,  even  in  its  weather- 
worn stages,  presented  a  lively  appearance 
that  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
most  unobservant.  Greens,  blues,  and  reds 
were  used  with  the  greatest  freedom  and,  just  as 
in  Holland  to-day,  gave  a  touch  of  kaleidoscopic 
interest  that  served  to  throw  all  the  delightfully 
intimate  and  fanciful  details  of  the  Dutch 
house  into  strong  relief. 

The  shutters  of  the  earlier  Dutch  houses  were 
usually  of  the  batten  type  and  at  the  top  often 
presented  the  curious  saw  cuts  intended  to  admit 
a  ray  of  light  or  for  ventilation.  These  saw  cuts 
were  made  in  almost  any  pattern  from  that  of  a 
half  moon  or  a  five  pointed  star  to  a  heart  or  a 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  TYPE  37 

pot  of  flowers.  This  same  conceit  of  decorative 
saw  cuts  has  been  perpetuated  in  the  shutters 
of  modern  houses  patterned  after  old  Dutch 
models.  Shutters  of  a  later  period  were  pan- 
nelled. 

Of  all  the  types  of  domestic  architecture  that 
have  been  either  evolved  or  modified  in  America 
during  the  Colonial  period,  none  more  generally 
commends  itself  to  the  favourable  consideration 
of  the  modern  home  builder  than  that  which 
the  Dutch  settlers  of  Manhattan,  North  Jersey 
and  Long  Island  worked  out  as  the  most  satis- 
factory solution  for  their  needs.  Although  the 
body  was  sturdy  and  stout,  the  ornamental 
details,  which  were  developed  in  the  later  period, 
were  often  extremely  graceful,  the  proportions 
throughout  the  type  are  agreeable  and  in  every 
instance,  whether  early  or  late,  we  find  the 
omnipresent  charm  of  domesticity,  which  in  the 
long  run  is  more  valued  by  the  majority  of 
people  than  a  stately  formality  which  sacri- 
fices a  measure  of  comfort  to  the  exacting  purity 
of  proportion. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

THE  Colonial  houses  of  New  England  are 
of  singular  interest  because  they  fill  a 
gap  in  our  architectural  history,  a  gap 
regarded  for  a  long  time  as  embarrassing  and 
awkward  to  bridge  over.  They  are  also  pecul- 
iarly interesting  because  they  are  so  full  of 
surprises  that  open  up  with  increasing  fre- 
quency to  repay  diligent  investigation  on  the 
part  of  the  architectural  student,  the  historian 
or  the  antiquary.  They  are  still  further  inter- 
esting because  they  supply  us  with  important 
and  ample  material  for  comparative  study. 

The  gap  alluded  to  is  the  apparent  hiatus  in 
the  connexion  between  domestic  architectural 
precedents  and  tradition  in  old  England,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  Colonial  manifestations,  as  popu- 
larly conceived  until  very  recently,  on  the  other. 
In  order  to  avoid  an  undue  extent  of  introduc- 
tory explanation,  it  will  be  assumed  that  the 
reader  is  reasonably  familiar  with  the  general 
characteristics  of  outward  appearance  displayed 
by    seventeenth-century    English    houses    and 

38 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  39 

knows  something  of  the  structural  methods 
employed  in  their  erection.  To  appreciate  fully 
and  understand  the  spirit  and  peculiarities  of  the 
earliest  Colonial  architecture  of  New  England, 
we  must  seek,  in  the  course  of  our  examina- 
tion of  the  subject,  to  find  a  fundamental  and 
close  correspondence  between  it  and  the  archi- 
tecture of  old  England,  no  matter  how  far  the 
visible  traces  of  that  intimate  relationship  may 
have  been  obscured  by  subsequent  alterations 
and  additions  to  the  original  houses  whose  fabric 
affords  our  basis  of  comparison.  If  we  keep 
our  eyes  and  wits  alert,  we  shall  not  be  disap- 
pointed in  the  results  of  our  search. 

While  pursuing  our  quest  for  evidences  of 
architectural  descent  or  consanguinity,  we  should 
keep  constantly  in  mind  three  things.  Indeed, 
we  must  keep  these  three  facts  before  us  to  un- 
derstand not  only  the  early  phases  of  architec- 
ture but  many  other  aspects  of  seventeenth- 
century  New  England  life  as  well.  First  of  all, 
the  men  who  built  the  early  New  England  houses 
and  the  men  who  lived  in  them  were  English- 
men, and,  as  Englishmen,  they  were  naturally 
disposed  by  temperament  to  be  strongly  con- 
servative and  to  cling  tenaciously  to  precedent 
and  tradition,  particularly  in  a  matter  of  such 
vital  importance  as  the  fashioning  of  houses. 
They  were,  in  short,  proving  the  truth  of  Edward 
Eggleston's  dictum  that  "men  can  with  dim- 


40    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

culty  originate,  even  in  a  new  hemisphere." 
In  the  second  place,  all  their  training  in  crafts- 
manship was  English  and  it  was  but  reasonable 
that  they  should  continue  to  work  in  a  new 
land  with  the  same  tools  and  to  fashion  their 
materials  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  they 
had  been  wont  to  do  in  the  land  of  their  birth. 
It  was  but  natural,  too,  that  they  should  per- 
petuate the  technicalities  of  the  trades  they  had 
learned  in  old  England  in  the  training  they 
gave  their  apprentices.     This  identity  and  con- 

v  tinuity  of  craft  traditions  may  be  clearly  seen 
in  the  furniture  of  early  New  England,  which  is 
exactly  the  same  as  contemporary  furniture  in 
England  in  contour,  joinery,  and  the  technique 
and  pattern  of  the  carving.  Identity  and 
continuity  of  craft  characteristics  may  also  be 
traced  in  the  turning  of  baluster  spindles,  in 
the  chamfering  of  beams,  in  the  framing  of 
house    timbers    and    in    a    dozen    other    ways. 

-  Lastly,  those  early  American  Englishmen  were 
possessed  of  no  mean  degree  of  clear-headed, 
practical  common  sense  and  were  eminently 
resourceful,  as  pioneers  in  a  new  and  untamed 
land  must  needs  be  if  their  efforts  at  colonisa- 
tion are  to  be  crowned  with  success.  If  local 
exigency  seemed  to  demand  that  they  modify 
their  methods  to  fit  current  needs,  they  were 
prompt  to  devise  a  suitable  adaptation  to  meet 
the  requirement.     But  these  adaptations   and 


HOUSE     OF     SEVEN     GABLES,     SALEM,     MASS.     1669. 
Showing    overhang   and    corner    pendant. 


Courtesy  of  Henry  I.  Fairbanks,  Dedham,  Mass. 

FAIRBANKS    HOUSE,    DEDHAM,    MASS.     1636. 


WHIPPLE    HOUSE,    IPSWICH,    MASS. 
The   latticed   casements   are   restorations. 


WHIPPLE    HOUSE,    IPSWICH,    MASS. 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  41 

departures  from  precedent  were  not  indulged 
in  from  mere  caprice  or  with  any  deliberate 
and  conscious  intent  to  develop  a  new  and 
original  mode  of  architectural  expression.  The  * 
adaptations  in  each  case,  before  they  became 
precedents  for  subsequent  repetition  elsewhere, 
were  suggested  by  obvious  necessity  andorig- 
inality  was  left  to  take  care  of  itself,  with  the 
usual  happy  results  arising  from  the  obser- 
vance of  the  principle  that  the  safest  and  truest 
originality  comes  by  a  gradual  process  of  evolu- 
tion, elimination  and  adaptation  to  local  needs. 
In  view,  then,  of  the  foregoing  considera- 
tions, one  not  unreasonably  expects  to  find  the 
early  New  England  house  identical  or  almost 
identical  in  appearance  and  structure  with  the 
contemporary  English  house  of  a  like  size,  only 
such  differences  being  evident  as  local  expedi- 
ency occasioned.  If  one  could  only  see  several 
such  houses  now  as  they  unquestionably  were 
at  the  date  of  their  erection,  this  chapter  would 
be  altogether  unnecessary,  for  the  resemblance 
between  them  and  their  prototypes  in  our  old 
home  beyond  the  Atlantic  would  be  so  striking 
that  the  veriest  dolt  would  be  sensible  of  it. 
In  nearly  every  instance  the  alterations  and 
accretions  of  centuries  have  blurred  and  often 
hidden  the  points  of  likeness,  but,  by  the  judi- 
cious employment  of  archaeological  surgery,  we 
may  readily  trace  all  the  steps  of  evolutionary 


42   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

development  5  from  the  well-known  old  English 
type  to  a  type  that  became  peculiarly  American 
and  local,  that  is  to  say,  peculiar  to  New  Eng- 
land. The  steps  are  all  logical  and  we  can  see 
how  the  early  colonists  began  by  building  houses 
as  they  were  accustomed  to  see  them  built 
in  old  England  and  ended  by  building  a  type 
whose  characteristics  were  generally  determined 
by  local  conditions  and  expediency.  We  can 
see  how,  by  successive  steps,  mediaeval  English 
peculiarities  of  structure  and  design  gradually 
gave  way  to  methods  of  more  recent  contrivance 
or  of  foreign  origin.  Indeed,  among  all  the  colo- 
nists, whether  of  English,  Dutch,  Swedish  or 
German  blood,  directly  they  had  passed  the 
temporary  log-cabin  stage,  there  was  a  virtual 
identity  between  the  architectural  forms  of  the 
parent  countries  and  their  own  earliest  per- 
manent architectural  attempts,  and  the  process 
of  differentiation  did  not  begin  until  new  envi- 
ronment and  new  necessities  pointed  the  way  to 
the  adoption  of  new  modes  and  forms.  It  is 
exceedingly  important  to  recognise  the  strong 
current  of  continuity  and  to  realise  that  the 
architecture  of  Colonial  America,  in  its  sundry 
manifestations,  was  not,  as  some  are  pleased  to 
contend,  an  wholly  independent  growth  with- 
out old-world  antecedents  or  clearly  marked  his- 
torical background. 
The  evolution  of  local  architecture,  of  course, 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  43 

not  only  mirrors  the  social  and  economic  devel- 
opment of  the  colonies  but  also  presents  numer- 
ous edifying  variations  within  the  confines  of 
New  England  which  show  how  strongly  the  course 
of  architectural  growth  in  the  new  land  was  influ- 
enced by  conditions  locally  prevalent  in  the  old 
home.  It  can  oftentimes  be  seen  how  the 
artisans  from  one  particular  place  in  England 
perpetuated  certain  idiosyncrasies  of  crafts- 
manship within  limited  Colonial  areas  and  that 
those  peculiarities  are  found  nowhere  else.  In 
both  its  economic  and  purely  technical  aspects, 
the  mode  of  domestic  architectural  expression 
devised  in  Colonial  New  England  has  many 
admirable  features  to  commend  it  and  is  due 
partly  to  native  Yankee  mother  wit  and  shrewd 
practicality  quickened  by  the  spur  of  necessity, 
and  partly  to  the  spirit  of  true  British  conserva- 
tism and  attachment  to  long-established  cus- 
tom, a  spirit  that  was  strong  in  the  early  Puri- 
tans and  often  determined  their  actions  in  spite 
of  themselves. 

A  brief  survey  of  seventeenth-century  man- 
ners and  men,  within  the  bounds  of  New  Eng- 
land, will  greatly  assist  us  in  forming  an  intel- 
ligent appreciation  of  the  houses  erected  in  this 
pioneer  period.  The  log-cabin  of  the  first  few 
years  of  colonisation  we  need  scarcely  consider, 
for  the  rude  huts  erected  at  first  were  merely 
temporary  shelters,  were  soon  replaced  by  more 


44   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

substantial  structures,  and  were  not  really  repre- 
sentative in  any  sense.  The  houses  built  as 
soon  as  the  colonists  had  an  opportunity  to 
become  accustomed  to  their  new  environment 
and  get  their  economic  bearings,  reflected  a 
condition  of  society  in  which  a  modest  degree 
of  simple  comfort,  resulting  from  rigorous 
thrift,  rewarded  the  majority  while  prosperous 
affluence  fell  to  the  lot  of  comparatively  few. 
Well  built  dwellings  were  comfortable  but  not 
pretentious.  They  were  apt  for  all  ordinary 
domestic  requirements  but,  save  in  exceptional 
cases,  there  was  no  approach  to  luxury.  They 
usually  had  rooms  enough  for  all  essential 
purposes  but  rarely  were  any  special  or  extra 
rooms  set  apart  for  distinctive  uses,  with  the 
exception  of  the  parlour  or  "best  room,"  which 
often  held  the  best  bed  and  served  variously 
as  state  bedroom  for  most  honoured  guests,  re- 
pository for  the  most  treasured  household  gods 
and  the  choicest  items  of  domestic  equipment 
and,  finally,  as  the  gathering  place  for  the  more 
worthy  visitors  at  times  of  weddings,  funerals 
or  other  important  occasions. 

The  number  of  bedchambers  provided  in 
most  cases  would  nowadays  be  deemed  totally 
inadequate  for  the  people  to  be  accommodated 
and,  to  cite  only  one  instance  thoroughly  typical 
of  innumerable  others,  the  members  of  the 
Revere  household,  if  we  may  believe  the  statis- 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  45 

tics  of  tradition,  must  have  been  packed  away 
at  nights  in  sardine-like  and  most  unsanatory 
proximity,  or  else  some  of  them  slept  in  the 
cellar  or  on  the  roof.  This  was  well  on  towards 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  too, 
when  habits  in  this  particular  had  certainly  not 
fallen  below  the  standards  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Besides  the  members  of  the  Revere 
family,  there  were  various  apprentices  and 
domestics,  all  of  whom  found  shelter  beneath 
the  roof  of  this  typical  seventeenth-century 
house.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  two  or 
three  children  or  young  persons  to  sleep  in  one 
bed  and  there  was  often  more  than  one  bed- 
stead in  a  room.  Truckle  or  trundle  beds  for 
children  were  frequently  put  in  the  bedcham- 
bers of  their  elders,  while  indentured  servants 
and  apprentices  oftentimes  slept  in  the  kitchen, 
or  else  master  and  mistress  slept  in  the  tempered 
atmosphere  of  the  kitchen  fire  and  underlings 
took  to  the  frigid  regions  above.  Wherever 
the  kitchen  was  put  into  commission  as  a  sleep- 
ing apartment,  there  was  the  folding  or  "let 
down"  bed  or  slawbank,  which  Mrs.  Earle  de- 
scribes as  "an  oblong  frame  with  a  network  of 
rope.  This  frame  was  fastened  at  one  end  to 
the  wall,  with  heavy  hinges,  and  at  night  it 
was  lowered  to  a  horizontal  position,  and  the 
unhinged  end  was  supported  on  heavy  wooden 
turned   legs   which   fitted   into   sockets   in   the 


46  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

frame.  When  not  in  use  the  bed  was  hooked 
up  against  the  wall,  and  doors  like  closet  doors, 
were  closed  over  it,  or  curtains  were  drawn  over 
it  to  conceal  it."  What  though  the  sleeping 
arrangements  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
indeed  of  much  of  the  eighteenth  century,  for 
that  matter,  would  often  have  called  forth  the 
sharp  condemnation  of  a  modern  tenement 
house  inspector,  the  colonists,  nevertheless, 
made  shift  to  get  along  in  tolerable  comfort 
and  raise  large  families  of  children,  with  a  due 
regard  for  the  amenities  of  life,  who  became  the 
most  exemplary  of  citizens. 

If  the  kitchen  was  sometimes  used  as  a 
sleeping  room,  it  was  almost  universally  used 
as  a  living  room.  It  was  the  vital  point  of  the 
household  whence  radiated  all  domestic  ener- 
gies. It  was  spacious  and  was  made  as  bright 
and  cheerful  as  it  could  possibly  be.  Around 
the  great  open  fireplace,  where  the  cooking 
was  done,  centred  all  in-door  activities  from 
carding,  spinning  and  weaving  to  corn  husking. 
Here  the  family  circle,  eldest  in  places  of  great- 
est comfort,  children  and  servants  about  the 
outer  edge,  gathered  in  the  firelight  of  the  long 
winter  evenings ;  here  the  neighbour  or  chance 
traveller  was  entertained,  and  here  lads  and 
lasses,  in  the  full  glare  of  family  publicity,  did 
much  of  their  courting,  sometimes  whispering 
their   sweet  nothings,   from   opposite   sides  of 


Copyright,  Detroit  Publishing  Co. 

PAUL    REVERE    HOUSE,    STREET    FRONT,    AFTER    RESTORATION. 

Built    i6;6. 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  47 

the  fireplace,  through  a  "courting-stick,"  a 
wooden  tube  six  or  eight  feet  long  with  mouth 
and  ear  pieces  at  each  end. 

In  houses  sufficiently  spacious  to  admit  of  a 
living  room  or  a  "keeping-room"  separate  from 
the  kitchen  —  such  a  room  was  analogous  to  the 
old  English  "hall"  —  the  kitchen  was  still  a 
cheerful  room  of  great  importance  and  the 
scene  of  many  domestic  fireside  industries. 
It  was  a  common  thing  to  make  lean-to  addi- 
tions to  the  original  structure  and  the  kitchen 
was  often  put  in  such  an  addition  or  in  an  ell 
extension.  It  was  only  the  houses  of  the  afflu- 
ent, like  that  of  Governour  Theophilus  Eaton 
at  New  Haven,  built  about  1640,  that  could 
boast  what  we  should  nowadays  consider  a  very 
moderate  number  of  rooms  on  the  ground  floor. 
Besides  the  great  hall  or  living  room  in  Govern- 
our Eaton's  house,  there  seem  to  have  been  a 
large  kitchen  and  a  pantry  or  buttery  on  one 
side,  and  on  the  other  a  parlour  and  a  counting- 
house  or  library.  Of  the  appointments  of  these 
rooms  we  may  gain  some  idea  from  the  inven- 
tory of  Governour  Eaton's  effects  at  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1657.  In  the  hall  or  living  room 
there  were  "a  drawing  Table  and  a  round  table ; 
a  cubberd  &  2  long  formes;  a  cubberd  cloth 
&  cushions ;  4  setwork  cushions,  6  greene  cush- 
ions ;  a  greate  chaire  with  needleworke ;  2 
high  chaires  set  work ;  4  high  stooles  set  worke ; 


48   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

4  low  chaires  set  worke ;  2  low  stooles  set  work ; 
2  Turkey  Carpette;  6  high  joyne  stooles;  a 
pewter  cistern  &  candlestick;  a  pr  of  small 
andirons;  a  pr  of  doggs;  a  pr  of  tongues  fire 
pan  &  bellowes."  The  other  rooms  were  fur- 
nished in  a  comparable  manner.  Living  rooms 
in  less  pretentious  houses  had  similar  equip- 
ment though,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  they 
were  not  usually  so  complete  nor  so  elegant. 

The  very  plan,  or  rather  plans  for  there  were 
several,  of  early  New  England  houses  pro- 
claimed an  English  origin.  The  house  of  Gov- 
ernour  Eaton,  just  mentioned,  is  said  to  have 
been  built  in  the  form  of  a  capital  E.  The  "E" 
plan  was  a  very  common  form  in  the  manor 
houses  and  even  in  the  larger  cottages  of  the 
England  of  Eaton's  time.  It  was  also  a  very 
old  form,  "  dating  from  the  thirteenth  century,  if 
not  from  the  twelfth,  or  even  earlier,  and  it  had* 
in  its  long  career,  come  to  be  the  expression  of 
a  regular  and  well-recognised  arrangement." 
"  Other  houses  of  this  plan  were  built  in  different 
parts  of  New  England  for  men  of  consequence 
and  substance." 

"The  common  houses,"  according  to  Edward 
E.  Lambert,  the  antiquary, "  at  first  were  small, 
of  one  storey  with  sharp  roofs,  and  heavy  stone 
chimneys  and  small  diamond  windows."  Many 
of  the  early  dwellings  also  had  two  floors.  One 
type  of  these  small  houses  commonly  found  in 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  49 

Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  consisted  of 
two  rooms  with  a  chimney  between  them.  The 
house  door  opened  into  a  small  entry  containing 
the  staircase,  opposite  the  door  and  carried  up 
beside  the  chimney.  The  chimney  was  the 
core  around  which  the  house  was  built  and  pro- 
jected above  the  middle  of  the  ridgepole.  Each 
room  had  a  fireplace.  To  this  type  of  house 
was  frequently  added  a  lean-to  across  the  whole 
rear  and  this  addition  usually  accommodated 
the  kitchen.  Sometimes  the  lean-to  was  in- 
corporated in  the  plan  when  the  house  was 
built.  In  either  case,  the  long,  narrow  lean-to 
room  contained  a  fireplace  which  generally  had 
a  flue  in  the  central  chimney.  When  dwellings 
of  this  description  had  two  rooms  on  the  ground 
floor,  one  would  be  the  kitchen  and  general 
living  room  and  the  other  the  parlour  contain- 
ing the  "best  bed,"  an  arrangement  alluded  to 
in  a  previous  paragraph;  where  there  was  the 
additional  lean-to  room  for  the  kitchen,  the 
two  other  rooms  would  be  living  room  and 
parlour. 

In  northern  Rhode  Island  there  was  another 
common  type  that  contained  one  room,  at  the 
end  of  which  "was  a  vast  stone  chimney  which 
appeared  on  the  outside  of  the  house."  Beside 
the  fireplace  and  in  the  offset  made  by  the 
chimney  jamb,  was  a  winding  staircase  —  in  the 
earliest  houses  it  was  sometimes  a  ladder  — 


50   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

leading  to  the  upper  room  or  loft,  as  the  case 
might  be.  An  amplification  of  this  "stone- 
end"  type  of  house  was  occasionally  found  with 
two  rooms  placed  side  by  side  and  a  fireplace 
in  each  room  in  relatively  the  same  position. 
That  these  types  of  floor  plan  were  part  of  the 
common  English  architectural  heritage  we  shall 
presently  see  by  comparison  with  subsequent 
chapters.  The  position  of  the  chimney  served 
to  all  intents  as  an  exterior  indication  of  the 
internal  plan  of  the  house.  Of  course,  many 
departures  from  these  two  original  plans  are 
to  be  met  with  in  the  early  Colonial  houses  of 
New  England  but  it  will  usually  be  found  that 
such  departures  are  due  to  later  additions  to  a 
structure  based,  in  the  first  instance,  on  one  or 
the  other  of  them. 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  thinking  of  the  old 
New  England  houses  as  structures  covered 
with  clapboards  that  we  are  in  danger  of  forget- 
ting what  is  underneath  this  outer  coat.  In 
fact,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  majority  of  people 
do  not  know  what  is  underneath,  and  many 
would  be  greatly  surprised  if  they  did.  After 
all,  the  clapboard  casing  is  a  disguise,  and  the 
people  of  New  England  are  so  thrifty  and,  as  a 
rule,  have  been  so  careful  to  keep  their  build- 
ings in  good  condition  that  the  clapboards  hide 
the  traces  of  age  that  would  otherwise  be  visible 
and  put  the  oldest  buildings  on  a  par  with  those 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  51 

of  later  date.  The  clapboard  casing  masques 
different  things  beneath  its  surface.  If  we  rip 
it  off  many  of  the  oldest  buildings,  we  shall 
find  behind  it  nothing  more  nor  less  than  an 
old  English  half-timber  house,  built  precisely 
as  were  the  half -timber  or  "black  and  white" 
houses  in  the  reigns  of  the  Tudors  and  Stuarts. 
The  exigencies  of  climate  soon  made  it  evident 
that  such  a  mode  of  structure  was  not  alto- 
gether suited  to  the  rigorous  winters  of  New 
England  and  then,  too,  something  must  be 
attributed  to  the  desire  on  the  part  of  subse- 
quent owners  to  follow  prevalent  fashion  which 
prescribed  the  clapboard  jackets.  In  houses 
of  more  recent  date,  of  course,  the  clapboard 
shell  may  be  regarded  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
structure  but,  in  the  earlier  buildings,  it  is 
nothing  but  a  masque,  put  on  at  a  later  date, 
to  protect  the  walls  and  give  added  warmth  when 
the  first-adopted  method  of  wall  building  was 
found  insufficient,  or  in  some  cases,  perhaps,  to 
comply  with  the  dictates  of  a  passing  fancy. 

Whenever  this  clapboarding  is  torn  off  for 
repairs,  original  conditions  become  obvious  and 
may  readily  be  studied.  The  writer  has  seen 
such  old  houses,  when  partly  denuded  of  their 
clapboard  casing,  reveal  typical  half-timber 
constructional  methods,  similar  in  every  partic- 
ular to  the  methods  pursued  by  the  half -timber 
builders  in  England.     The  cills,  the  studs,  the 


52   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

diagonal  timbers  and  all  the  other  parts  of  the 
frame  are  set  and  joined,  tenoned  and  pinned, 
just  as  they  were  in  England  and  the  spaces 
between  the  studs  are  "pugged"  with  rough 
brick  or  stones  and  coarse  clay  stiffened  with 
chopped  straw,  also  in  the  time-honoured  Eng- 
lish manner.  It  is  quite  possible  that  in  some 
instances  the  spaces  between  the  studs  may  have 
been  "pugged"  with  "wattle  and  dab"  —  thick 
clay  daubed  on  a  loose  mesh  of  interwoven 
wattles  or  withes  —  for  the  tradition  of  this 
process  certainly  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  ap- 
peared in  some  of  the  early  clay  chimneys  of 
Connecticut. 

So  many  people  have  expressed  surprise  when 
told  of  the  unbroken  persistence  of  the  half- 
timber  tradition  that  it  will  be  in  order  to  men- 
tion specific  instances  which,  however,  may  be 
regarded  as  typical  of  many  other  buildings 
of  contemporary  date.  For  much  painstaking 
and  scholarly  investigation  in  this  field,  and 
for  much  accurate  restoration,  the  public  is 
indebted  to  Joseph  Everett  Chandler,  of  Boston, 
whose  restorations  of  numerous  historic  build- 
ings have  won  him  well  deserved  esteem  and 
confidence.1 

1  It  should  be  plainly  stated  that  Mr.  Chandler,  in  the  course  of  his  in- 
vestigations and  restorations,  feels  that  he  has  discovered  no  evidence 
sufficiently  convincing  to  warrant  an  assertion,  positive  beyond  all  perad- 
tenture,  that  clapboards  were  applied  to  the  oldest  houses  at  a  date  subse- 

auent  to  their  original  construction  and  as  a  remedy  for  the  structural 
lortcomings  of  half-timber  methods  when  subjected  to  the  rigours  of  the 


•g& 

j        ^^^^^       IT 

£^0r    '- 

Wk  ' 

■'- 

DOTEN    HOUSE,    PLYMOUTH,    MASS.      BUILT     1640. 
Very    early    type    with    low    eaves    and    central    chimney. 


NARRONXE     HOUSE,     SALEM,     MASS. 
The  long  slope  of  roof  on  one  side  shows  persistence  of  old  English  tradition. 


Copyright,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
WYNNESTAY,     PHILADELPHIA.      1O80. 
An   intact  example  of    Pennsylvania   Colonial,   of   Welsh   workmanship. 


Copyright,  J   C.  Lippincott  Co. 

SOUTH   FRONT  OF  WYCK,   GERMANTOWN,   PHILADELPHIA.      1650. 

Pennsylvania    Colonial    type    with    German    influence    apparent. 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  53 

It  was  the  writer's  privilege  to  see  the  old 
Bake  House  in  Salem  just  after  it  had  been 
rescued  by  private  generosity  from  impending 
demolition  and  moved  to  its  present  site  hard 
by  the  House  of  the  Seven  Gables.  In  the 
course  of  making  necessary  repairs  and  restora- 
tions, the  clapboard  casing  had  been  entirely 
removed  and  it  was  possible  to  see  fully  the 
whole  structural  scheme.  The  timbers  and 
pugging  were  as  just  noted.  Although  the 
windows  were,  at  that  time,  of  the  sash  type, 
with  small  panes,  the  traces  were  clearly  visible 
of  alterations  that  had  been  made  at  an  earlier 
date,  probably  somewhere  about  1720,  when  the 
sash  window  rose  into  high  favour  and  was  gen- 
erally substituted  for  the  leaded  casement  with 
small  diamond-shaped  panes.  The  timbers 
gave  unmistakable  evidence  that  the  window 
apertures  in  the  sides  of  the  house  had  originally 
been  wide  enough  to  accommodate  a  range  of 
casements  and  that  they  had  been  neither  so 
high  nor  so  low  as  the  sash  or  double  hung  win- 
dows that  took  their  places.  In  other  words, 
the  timbers  showed  that  the  apertures  had  been 

New  England  climate.  Clapboards,  it  is  true,  were  used  at  a  very  early- 
date  and  may,  perhaps,  have  been  employed  from  the  first  as  a  coating 
over  an  underlying  half-timber  base.  Of  one  thing,  however,  there  can 
be  no  question  —  the  existence  of  half-timber  construction  beneath  the 
clapboards  in  many  of  the  oldest  buildings.  In  view  of  this  assured  fact 
and  the  early  settlers'  habitual  fidelity  to  traditional  practices,  it  seems  a 
not  unwarrantable  presumption  that  half-timber  work  antedated  the  use 
of  clapboards  by  some  years  until  the  poor  quality  of  the  pugging  and 
the  warping  of  unseasoned  timbers  compelled  the  adoption  of  some  satis- 
factory remedy. 


54     THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

narrowed  to  a  considerable  extent  and,  at  the 
same  time,  extended  both  upwards  and  down- 
wards. 

Inside  the  house,  the  heavy  oak  studs,  when 
the  laths  and  plaster  were  torn  off,  showed 
chamfered  corners,  usually  stopped  at  the  ends 
with  a  stop  that  was  thoroughly  mediaeval  in 
character  and  might  be  found  duplicated  in  the 
beams  of  trussed  roofs  in  any  old  building  in 
England  dating  from  the  sixteenth  century  or 
earlier.  The  tops  of  the  studs,  in  some  cases, 
showed  a  peculiar  splay  outward  at  the  sides  and 
rough  notching  by  way  of  ornament.  Surely 
here  were  touches  of  mediaeval  English  work- 
manship that  had  been  perpetuated  in  the  new 
land  by  a  workman  who  had  served  his  appren- 
ticeship in  an  English  village  where  all  the  old 
joinery  traditions  were  preserved  intact. 

The  overhang  on  the  second  floor  projecting 
some  distance  beyond  the  walls  of  the  first  is 
another  striking  instance  of  the  survival  of 
half-timber  building  traditions  in  not  a  few  of 
the  old  houses.  We  see  it  in  the  House  of  the 
Seven  Gables,  in  the  Bake  House,  in  the  Paul 
Revere  house  in  Boston,  in  more  than  one  old 
house  in  Marblehead,  and  in  plenty  of  other 
ancient  dwellings,  some  of  them  recently  re- 
stored, throughout  the  land,  where  restorations 
have  been  intelligently  undertaken  and  carried 
out.     It  has  almost  invariably  proved  the  case 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  55 

either  that  the  pendants  were  intact  beneath 
the  clapboards,  or  that  the  stumps  of  them  were 
there,  clearly  showing]the  existence  of  the  feature. 
In  not  a  few  cases  the  overhang  has  disappeared 
because  the  clapboard  casing  has  been  carried 
down  flush  with  the  outside  of  the  upper  storey. 
This  was  the  case  with  the  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables,  and  it  was  only  when  the  clapboard 
casing,  in  which  it  had  been  jacketed  for  many 
years,  was  removed  that  the  overhang  once  more 
came  to  light  and  the  stumps  of  the  original 
pendants  were  forthwith  restored.  The  find- 
ing of  such  pendants  and  such  overhangs  coupled 
with  the  frequent  occurrence  of  such  features  as 
just  noted  in  the  case  of  the  Bake  House  afford 
us  irrefutable  evidence  of  the  perpetuation  of 
the  English  half-timber  building  traditions. 
It  has  been  fondly  supposed  by  some  that  the 
overhang  was  meant  for  purposes  of  defence. 
It  may  have  been  turned  to  that  use  when  occa- 
sion required,  but  defence  was  certainly  not  the 
original  idea,  for  in  that  case  the  projection 
would  doubtless  have  been  carried  all  the  way 
around  the  wall,  as  it  was  in  the  case  of  the 
block  houses,  where,  of  course,  this  feature  was 
meant  primarily  to  facilitate  defence  and  cover 
the  occupants  as  they  dropped  boiling  oil,  hot 
lead,  or  other  missiles  on  the  heads  of  their  assail- 
ants whenever  they  approached  near  enough. 
From  the  early  New  England  houses,  that  em- 


56   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

bodied  so  many  old  English  architectural  tradi- 
tions, was  gradually  evolved,  under  stress  of 
local  expediency,  a  type  that  met  the  needs  of 
the  colonists.  That  type  was  not  only  intensely 
practical  in  its  characteristics  but  its  simplicity 
and  straightforwardness  gave  it  a  vital  artistic 
interest  that  still  commends  it  to  our  favourable 
consideration. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PBE-GEORGIAN     ARCHITECTURE    IN    THE    MIDDLE 
COLONIES 

English,  Welsh,  Swedish  and   German  Influences 

FROM  the  very  outset,  Pennsylvania  was 
the  most  polyglot  and  conglomerate  of 
all  the  English  colonies  or  provinces  in 
America.  West  Jersey  and  Delaware,  which 
latter  State  was  originally  a  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  known  as  "the  three  lower  counties 
on  Delaware,"  in  some  degree  shared  this 
miscellaneous  character,  and  together  the  three 
formed  a  practically  distinct  unit  in  the  Middle 
Colonies,  peculiar  in  composition  and  without 
parallel  elsewhere.  The  diversity  in  nationality 
and  speech  among  the  early  settlers  was  directly 
reflected  in  architectural  manifestations  and 
the  variant  types  were  never  wholly  welded 
together  into  one  distinct  style  and,  even  long 
after  the  advent  and  almost  universal  prevalence 
of  the  Georgian  mode,  they  continued  in  use 
concurrently.  Just  as  similar  phenomena  were 
to  be  detected  in   the   several  parts   of   New 

57 


58   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

England,  they  displayed  local  peculiarities  of 
artisanship  attributable  to  the  different  tradi- 
tions obtaining  in  the  respective  parts  of  the  Old 
World  from  which  the  individual  artisans  had 
come.  The  two  most  noticeable  features  in 
the  early  population  of  Pennsylvania  were  the 
diversity  of  elements  and  the  clannishness  and 
consequent  isolation  of  the  people  who  composed 
the  several  distinct  parts  of  the  colony.  These 
elements  remained  distinct  from  each  other 
both  from  preference  and  interest,  and  natural 
conditions  favoured  this  division. 

First  of  all  in  date  of  settlement  on  the  shores 
of  the  Delaware  were  the  Swedes,  whose  suc- 
cessful efforts  at  colonisation  began  in  1638. 
The  Dutch,  it  is  true,  had  previously  made  some 
slight  attempts  at  settlement.  In  1616,  in 
pursuit  of  the  exploration  essayed  but  abandoned 
by  Hudson  in  1609,  Captain  Hendrickson,  in 
the  "Onrust"  ("Restless"),  had  sailed  up  the 
Delaware  to  the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill  and, 
in  1623,  under  Captain  Cornelius  Mey,  Fort 
Nassau  was  built  at  what  is  now  Gloucester 
Point,  nearly  opposite  Philadelphia.  In  the 
main,  however,  the  Dutch  preferred  to  stay 
down  the  bay  and,  in  1650,  Fort  Nassau  was 
abandoned.  They  were  traders  rather  than 
settlers,  so  far  as  their  connexion  with  the  Dela- 
ware was  concerned,  and  the  first  real  settle- 
ments,   therefore,    are    to   be   credited    to   the 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  C0L0ND3S  59 

Swedes  who  were  home-loving,  industrious  farm- 
ers, proud  of  their  homesteads  and  capable  in 
the  management  of  their  dairies  but  possessed 
of  little  inclination  towards  commercial  activity. 
The  Swedish  foundation  was  permanent  and, 
though  the  Swedish  population  was  eventually 
absorbed  by  the  more  numerous  elements 
brought  hither  a  few  years  later  by  Penn's 
"holy  experiment,"  it  left  an  indelible  and  sig- 
nificant mark  upon  the  corporate  composition 
of  the  colony  and  the  traces  of  Swedish  influ- 
ence are  still  distinct  and  unmistakable,  not  only 
in  much  of  the  local  architecture,  in  the  names 
of  places  and  persons,  and  in  the  strong  strain 
of  Swedish  blood  in  many  Pennsylvania  families 
but  in  humbler  and  less  obvious  matters  as 
well.  As  an  instance  of  the  latter  may  be  men- 
tioned the  common  strain  of  red  cattle  to  be  seen 
everywhere  on  the  hills  and  in  the  valleys  of 
eastern  Pennsylvania.  These  same  red  cattle 
are  the  descendants  of  the  Swedish  kine,  brought 
hither  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago  by  the 
hardy  colonists  who  planted  their  farmsteads 
along  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  and  its  lower 
tributaries. 

Attracted  by  the  prospect  of  religious  liberty, 
by  the  liberal  inducements  offered  them,  and 
by  the  fatness  of  the  land,  a  great  variety  of 
settlers,  following  in  the  wake  of  Penn's  pio- 
neers, flocked  to  the  colony  on  the  Delaware  and 


60   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

found  there  a  safe  and  happy  refuge  after  the 
troublous  existence  many  of  them  had  led  before 
their  departure  from  their  old  homes.  Besides 
the  English,  who  were  almost  altogether  Quak- 
ers, there  were,  in  this  second  wave  of  immi- 
gration, both  Welsh  and  Germans.  Later  still, 
a  small  Dutch  element  was  added  and  then  came 
the  Scotch-Irish.  Each  of  these  elements  nat- 
urally perpetuated  its  own  peculiar  architec- 
tural traditions,  and  why  those  traditions  con- 
tinued so  long  a  time  distinct  in  their  expres- 
sion we  shall  presently  see. 

While  the  English  Quakers  were  numerically 
preponderant,  counting  the  neighbourhood  of 
Philadelphia  and  West  Jersey  as  a  unit  of  popu- 
lation, and  were  politically  in  supreme  control 
until  late  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Welsh 
and  Germans  dwelt  close  beside  them  and  were 
accorded  so  large  a  measure  of  practical  inde- 
pendence in  the  management  of  their  own  affairs 
that  their  communities  were  virtually  imperia  in 
imperio.  For  twenty  or  thirty  years  after  the 
founding  of  Pennsylvania,  "the  Welsh  were  the 
most  numerous  class  of  immigrants"  and  in 
place  names,  in  blood,  in  local  history,  and  in 
architecture  their  enduring  influence  is  plainly 
discernible.  Before  they  migrated  from  the 
land  of  their  birth,  they  had  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  Penn  by  which  he  promised 
them  "a  tract  of  forty  thousand  acres,  where 


tfh* 


GLORIA    DEI    GLEBE    HOUSE. 
Built    for    clergymen    of    Weccaco    and    Kingsessing    parishes. 


OLDEST    HOUSE    IN    DOVER,    DELA. 
Showing  strong   Swedish   influence   in   contour   of   roof. 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  61 

they  could  have  a  little  government  of  their 
own  and  live  by  themselves."  Accordingly, 
upon  their  arrival,  this  tract  was  surveyed  for 
them  in  the  high,  rolling  lands  embraced  chiefly 
within  the  present  bounds  of  Montgomery  and 
Delaware  Counties,  a  section  that  more  nearly 
resembled  in  character  their  beloved  Wales 
than  did  any  other  part  of  this  new  country  of 
their  adoption.  The  tract  was  called  the  Welsh 
Barony  for  the  sturdy,  "red-haired,  freckle- 
faced  descendants  of  the  ancient  Britons  in- 
sisted that  this  territory,  specially  set  apart 
for  them,  was  a  barony  or  county  palatine  and, 
in  very  truth,  it  was  a  manor  with  the  right  of 
court  baron.'*  These  Owens  and  Joneses, 
Evanses  and  Wynnes,  Powells  and  Pughs  and 
all  their  kith  and  kin,  managed  their  affairs 
according  to  their  own  notions  and,  at  first, 
dispensed  with  the  usual  system  of  township  and 
county  organisation.  Civil  authority  was  vested 
in  the  Quaker  meetings  until,  in  1690,  the  three 
townships  of  Merion,  Haverford  and  Radnor 
were  formed  and  the  civil  jurisdiction  of  the 
meetings  superseded.  Welsh  was  the  official 
language  of  the  courts  and  records  and  Welsh 
was  the  daily  tongue  of  all  the  people  in  the 
barony  and  very  few  of  them  understood  Eng- 
lish, so  that  when  William  Penn  preached  at 
Haverford,  in  1701,  his  hearers  could  not  have 
been  much  edified,  so  far  as  his  words  were 


62   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

concerned.  Closely  bound  together  by  the  tie 
of  language  and  separated  by  the  same  means 
from  the  other  colonists  who  spoke  English, 
Swedish  or  German,  these  Welsh  gentry  and 
yeomen  held  aloof  from  outside  affairs,  content 
with  a  mode  of  life  that  was  "unusual  on  a  pro- 
vincial frontier"  for  its  "amount  of  enjoyment 
and  expenditure  for  dress  and  entertainment." 
Local  independence  and  self-sufficiency  were 
only  broken  down  when  the  barony  was  thrown 
open  to  outside  settlers  because  the  Welsh  occu- 
pants refused  to  pay  quit-rents  on  more  land 
than  they  actually  used  or  held.  Their  strong 
feeling  of  nationality,  however,  remained  and 
nothing  could  have  been  more  natural  than 
that  the  architecture  for  which  they  were 
responsible  should  have  had,  as  it  did,  a  char- 
acteristic local  flavour. 

The  earliest  German  community  was  Ger- 
mantown  and,  though  it  is  now  a  part  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  1683  and  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years  afterward,  Penn's  "greene  country  towne" 
and  the  village  of  the  Germans  were  separated 
by  a  long  stretch  of  open  country  and  the  high- 
road between  the  two  was  oftentimes  so  bad 
that  it  was  an  obstacle  rather  than  an  aid  to 
communication.  The  German  settlers  spoke 
their  own  language,  printed  their  own  books, 
pursued  their  own  industries,  worshipped  in 
their  own   way,   built   their   own   schools   and 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  C0L0ND3S  63 

managed  their  own  affairs  of  internal  organisa- 
tion without  either  interference  or  assistance 
from  the  powers  in  Philadelphia.  As  did  the 
earliest  settlers  in  Germantown,  so  also  did  their 
countrymen,  who  continued  to  come  to  America 
in  ever-increasing  numbers  and  travelled  farther 
and  farther  into  the  interior  of  the  land  where 
the  richness  of  the  soil  and  the  opportunity  to 
follow  their  own  inclinations  without  let  or 
hindrance  from  interfering  or  antagonistic  neigh- 
bours invited  them. 

Besides  keeping  aloof,  during  most  of  the 
early  period,  from  the  settlers  of  other  national- 
ity, the  Germans  were  also  subdivided  among 
themselves.  There  were  the  Pietists  or  Rosi- 
crucians,  who  had  their  settlement  or  community 
on  the  banks  of  the  Wissahickon.  Although 
they  maintained  some  intercourse  with  the 
other  German  settlers,  they  nevertheless  led  a 
distinct  existence.  The  people  in  Germantown, 
likewise,  formed  a  complete  community  in 
themselves  and  the  industries  in  which  they 
engaged  at  an  early  date,  namely,  the  opera- 
tion of  paper  and  knitting  mills,  are  still  flour- 
ishing in  the  neighbourhood,  in  some  instances 
on  the  original  sites.  Again,  the  settlers  in  the 
Skippack  region  were  far  removed  from  those 
in  Germantown  and  developed  peculiarities  of 
their  own.  The  Moravians,  in  their  turn, 
pushed  still  farther  into  the  northern  part  of 


64   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  province  and  founded  settlements  quite 
distinct  from  all  other  colonisation  enterprises. 
Their  ancient  buildings  are  deeply  interesting 
and  have  preserved  permanently  the  traditions 
of  the  country  whence  the  Moravians  origi- 
nally came.  An  examination  will  clearly  show 
a  similarity  in  many  points  to  the  Suabian 
modes  of  architectural  expression,  as  one  might 
expect  from  the  close  ties  of  kinship. 

The  isolation  of  the  several  elements  of  popu- 
lation in  the  colony  was  still  further  favoured  by 
the  fact  that,  at  first,  the  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  colonists  who  followed 
Penn  resembled  their  Swedish  predecessors  and 
were  not  commercial  in  their  instincts  like 
the  Dutch,  who  were  aggressively  mercantile 
with  their  fur  trade.  What  they  needed  for 
home  consumption  the  early  Pennsylvanians 
made  for  themselves,  so  far  as  they  could,  and 
in  every  way  were  essentially  agricultural  and 
diametrically  opposed  to  the  Dutch.  For  some 
years  after  the  founding  of  the  colony,  Swedes, 
English,  Welsh,  and  Germans  alike  turned  their 
eyes  inland.  We  might  say  that  their  policy 
of  colonisation  was  introspective  rather  than 
expansive. 

This  introspective  policy  of  colonisation  did 
not  tend  toward  the  expansion  or  the  prosperity 
of  the  colony  and,  while  the  colonists  led  lives 
of  comfort  in  their  own  preferred  seclusion,  it 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONffiS  65 

was  not  until  they.,  turned  their  eyes  to  the  sea 
and  engaged  in  commerce  that  the  prosperity 
of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  colony  generally,  in- 
creased by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  roads,  for 
the  most  part,  were  extremely  bad  and,  in  the 
winter  and  spring,  were  hopelessly  miry.  Where 
the  settlers  did  not  follow  the  course  of  the 
streams  for  the  spread  of  their  area  of  colonisa- 
tion, they  followed  the  Indian  trails,  and  most 
of  the  old  roads  leading  out  from  Philadelphia, 
the  old  arteries  of  traffic  along  which  the  col- 
onists made  their  homesteads,  and  from  which 
they  pushed  farther  and  farther  into  the  interior, 
were  originally  the  pathways  worn  by  the  red 
men  through  the  forest. 

While  the  Swedes  chose  the  streams  to  deter- 
mine their  course  of  colonisation,  the  Germans 
usually  stuck  to  the  Indian  trails  which,  in  time, 
became  the  highroads  to  their  various  communi- 
ties. In  the  earliest  times,  the  German  lads 
and  lasses  forded  the  streams  and  came  on  horse^ 
back  along  these  roads,  carrying  their  goods  for 
market  in  the  city  in  panniers.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  sufficient  improvement  was 
made  in  the  condition  of  the  highways  to  allow 
the  great  four,  six,  and  eight  horse  wains  to  be 
driven  to  the  city  periodically  from  the  more 
remote  settlements.  In  these  wains  were  con- 
tained the  products  of  the  six  months'  or  year's 
labour  on  the  farms  and,  with  the  money  from 


66  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

what  they  sold,  the  farmers  bought  materials 
which  they  took  home  to  be  manufactured  into 
the  various  articles  of  necessity  or  comfort  re- 
quired by  the  different  members  of  their  house- 
holds. 

Not  until  they  learned,  in  the  course  of  time, 
to  appreciate  the  fundamental  liberalism  that 
characterised  the  principles  of  the  colony  as 
established  by  the  Founder,  and  not  until  the 
gradual  development  of  commercial  industries 
tended  to  bring  them  more  together  had  the 
different  groups  of  colonists  any  common  ground 
upon  which  they  might  meet  without  bringing 
their  diversity  of  principles  and  prejudices  into 
conflict.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  architectural 
course  of  the  province  had  fallen  into  several 
well-defined  separate  channels  that  are  still 
easily  recognisable.  That  these  divers  phases 
of  Colonial  architecture  should  retain  their 
individuality  side  by  side  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  when  we  consider  the  early  diversity  and 
isolation  of  the  various  racial  elements  of  the 
province,  explained  at  length  in  the  foregoing 
pages,  and  when  we  consider,  also,  the  tenacity 
with  which  the  people  clung  to  their  distin- 
guishing racial  peculiarities  of  every  sort  long 
after  the  barriers  of  antagonism  or  isolation 
had  been  broken  down. 

It  is  always  well  to  be  explicit,  and  it  is  easier 
to  make  the  basis  of  contention  clear  when  a 


QUAKER    ALMS    HOUSE,    PHILADELPHIA. 

Built   early   in   eighteenth   century.      Said   to  have   been   the 

place    of     Evangeline's     death. 


LONDON      <  BRADFORD'S)      COFFEE     HOUSE,      PHILADELPHIA. 

BUILT     170.-. 

From  an   old   engraving. 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  67 

definite  instance  is  cited.  We  shall,  therefore, 
use  certain  specified  houses  for  the  sake  of 
example.  The  first  of  these  to  claim  our  atten- 
tion is  Wynnestay,  shown  in  one  of  the  accom- 
panying illustrations,  the  ancient  home  of  the 
Wynne  family,  on  the  borders  of  the  Welsh 
Barony.  When  built  in  1689,  it  was  in  deep 
country ;  now  it  is  surrounded  by  a  suburban 
growth.  Practically  the  only  alteration  that 
Wynnestay  has  ever  undergone  was  raising  the 
ridgepole  of  the  roof,  on  the  oldest  part,  to 
the  line  of  the  1700  addition  at  a  time  when  it 
was  found  necessary  to  make  some  repairs. 
Save  this,  and  what  has  been  built  at  the  back 
to  meet  increased  domestic  needs,  Wynnestay 
remains  to-day  in  its  pristine  state  and  is,  there- 
fore, valuable  as  a  well-preserved  example  of 
Welsh  Colonial  work.  Doors  and  windows  are 
low,  but  of  generous  breadth,  and  capped  by 
heavy  stone  lintels  made  of  thick,  oblong  slabs 
that  must  have  cost  no  ordinary  exertion  and 
energy  to  set  them  in  place.  The  two  dormers 
have  the  same  sharply-pointed  peaks  that  we 
shall  see  in  another  Colonial  example.  As  might 
be  expected,  the  walls  are  thick  and  everything 
about  the  building  is  of  the  most  solid  con- 
struction. 

When  Wynnestay  was  built,  the  colonists  had 
had  no  time  to  evolve  new  architectural  forms, 
so  we  may  be  sure  that  in  erecting  their  dwell- 


68   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ings  they  followed  as  closely  as  they  were  able 
all  traditions  and  precedents  with  which  they 
had  been  familiar  in  the  old  country.  That 
Wynnestay  and  its  contemporaries  faithfully 
represent  the  farmhouses  and  small  manor  houses 
of  Wales  and  England  we  may  feel  the  more  cer- 
tain because  capable  artisans,  both  house  car- 
penters and  stone  masons,  accompanied  the 
earlier  settlers  and  by  this  time  had  arrived  in 
considerable  numbers  in  the  colony,  and  of 
course  were  working  by  the  principles  instilled 
into  them  in  their  apprentice  days. 

The  masonry  of  the  Pennsylvania  Colonial 
type  has  been  highly  admired  time  and  time 
again  by  architects  in  all  sections  of  the  coun- 
try. The  same  sort  of  masonry  work  is  being 
done  by  local  stone  masons  today,  and  so 
individual  and  characteristic  is  it  that  they  are 
sometimes  sent  for  to  erect  walls  at  a  great 
distance  from  their  own  locality,  because  no 
other  masons  can  be  found  to  put  quite  the  same 
touch  into  the  face  of  the  wall  or  lay  the  stones 
in  quite  the  same  way.  But  the  charm  for 
which  their  handiwork  is  justly  famed  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  they  are  merely  following  the 
tradition  handed  down  to  them  by  the  old  Welsh 
and  English  masons  who  came  over  with  the 
first  settlers.  The  tradition  has  been  faith- 
fully perpetuated  ever  since.  We  find  it  in 
strong  evidence  in  all  the  old  houses  of  that 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  C0L0ND2S  69 

type,  in  fact  in  all  the  old  buildings.  It  will  be 
adverted  to,  in  the  chapter  on  old  Colonial 
churches,  in  connexion  with  St.  David's,  Rad- 
nor. Again  we  see  it  in  such  a  building  as 
Waynesborough,  which,  by  the  way,  is  partic- 
ularly interesting  as  marking  the  transition 
from  the  early  Colonial  type  to  the  early  Geor- 
gian. 

Although  Waynesborough  was  not  built  until 
a  few  years  after  Graeme  Park  or  Hope  Lodge, 
those  striking  examples  of  the  first  phase  of  the 
Middle  Colonies'  Georgian,  it  has,  nevertheless, 
retained  in  certain  features  a  strong  resemblance 
to  the  early  Colonial  Welsh  type.  The  masonry 
is  precisely  the  same,  but  more  noticeable  even 
than  this  are  the  lintels  of  the  doors  and  win- 
dows, constructed  of  a  number  of  stones  verti- 
cally set  in  a  flattened  or  elliptical  arch.  This 
form  is  to  be  seen  in  much  of  the  early  Welsh 
work  concurrently  with  the  great  slabs  noted 
at  Wynnestay. 

In  general  character  Wynnestay  is  similar  to 
the  other  Welsh  houses  near  by,  such  as  Pen- 
coyd,  at  Bala,  built  in  1683,  or  Harriton,  built 
a  little  later,  but  it  has  suffered  less  change  in 
the  lapse  of  years  than  its  near  neighbours  in 
Lower  Merion  township  or  other  sections  in 
which  the  Welsh  influence  was  felt,  and  it  is 
better  fitted  to  represent  the  type.  The  house 
is  built  of  native  grey  fieldstone  of  varied  sizes 


70    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

—  some  of  the  stones  were  probably  turned  up 
in  the  course  of  clearing  the  fields  round  about  — 
lined  with  white  mortar  and  presents  an  inter- 
esting feature  in  the  bold  moulding  of  the  cor- 
nices. A  continuation  of  the  cornice  from  the 
eaves,  following  the  same  horizontal  line,  trav- 
erses the  face  of  the  wall  at  each  gable  end,  mak- 
ing, with  the  gable  cornice,  a  complete  triangle. 
This  arrangement  of  the  cornice  as  a  string  course 
across  the  gable  ends  gives  the  roof  a  downright, 
positive  appearance.  The  cornice  in  this  ar- 
rangement is  not  dissimilar  from  the  penthouse 
so  often  used  on  structures  of  this  date  between 
the  first  and  second  floors.  Wynnestay  was 
built  at  two  different  periods.  The  first  part, 
built  in  1689,  has  a  penthouse  along  the  front 
with  a  triangular  hood;  the  later  addition, 
built  in  1700,  has  the  penthouse  between  the 
first  and  second  floors,  but  without  the  tri- 
angular hood  above  the  door.  Still  another 
feature  showing  the  close  connexion  of  Waynes- 
borough  with  the  early  Colonial  type,  as  ex- 
emplified by  Wynnestay,  is  the  hood  over  the 
house  door.  Although  the  penthouses  have 
disappeared  the  hood  has  remained,  and  indi- 
cates very  plainly  a  certain  line  of  descent. 

Wynnestay  and  other  old  houses  just  like 
it  were  the  forerunners  of  a  type  of  structure 
that  has  come  to  be  known  as  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Colonial   farmhouse   type;  very   worthy 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  71 

the  type  is,  truly  comfortable,  homelike  and 
sensible,  and  deserving  the  popularity  accorded 
it,  so  long  as  it  sticks  closely  to  its  severe  sim- 
plicity and  avoids  all  attempt  at  pretence. 
The  very  moment,  however,  we  depart  from 
time-honoured  tradition  and  attempt  to  begaud 
this  sort  of  building  with  Georgian  embellish- 
ments and  furbelows  —  a  thing  far  too  often 
done  —  it  looks  unseemly  and  ludicrous.  Before 
leaving  the  subject  one  should  add  that  the 
Pennsylvania  Colonial  farmhouse  is  found  in 
roughcast  as  well  as  stone,  and  that  the  build- 
ings erected  by  the  English  settlers,  though 
similar,  were  apt  to  be  somewhat  higher  than 
the  old,  squat  dwellings  of  the  Welsh,  whose 
natural  predilection  for  "stumpiness"  is  well 
exemplified  by  the  towers  of  their  churches. 

Our  next  Colonial  example  is  Wyck  in  Ger- 
man town,  at  the  corner  of  Walnut  Lane  and 
German  town  Road.  Like  Wynnestay,  Wyck 
has  undergone  scarcely  any  change  since  its 
staunch  walls  were  reared.  Furthermore,  Wyck 
has  never  been  sold,  but  has  passed  from  owner 
to  owner  by  inheritance,  and  as  its  possessors 
have  always  been  careful  to  maintain  every- 
thing in  its  original  condition,  it  can  readily 
be  seen  that  a  more  trustworthy  example  of 
Pennsylvania  Colonial  architecture  could  not 
be  chosen.  Wyck  represents  the  German  influ- 
ence in  Colonial  architecture.    The  structure  is 


72   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

really  two  houses  joined  together.  The  first 
was  built  about  1690  or  earlier;  the  second, 
though  built  somewhat  later,  nevertheless  dates 
also  from  an  early  period.  Through  the  first 
part  of  the  connecting  portion,  that  links  the 
two  houses  into  one,  ran  a  passage  or  waggon 
way.  This  passage  was  afterward  closed  in 
and  now  forms  a  great  hallway  from  which  open 
outwards  big  double  doors  almost  as  wide  as 
barn  doors,  with  a  long  transom  of  little  lights 
above  them. 

The  whole  long  south  front  of  the  house  is 
whitewashed.  Trellises  cover  the  face  of  the 
wall,  and  the  vines,  with  their  masses  of  thick 
foliage,  stand  out  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  gleam- 
ing brightness  of  their  background.  At  Wyck 
the  windows  are  higher  and  not  so  wide  in  pro- 
portion as  at  Wynnestay,  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  dimensions  of  the  doors.  The 
proportions  are  excellent  and  the  measurements 
of  sash-bars,  muntins,  and  panes  have  been  dupli- 
cated by  architects  again  and  again,  with  most 
satisfactory  results.  The  dormerheads  have 
the  same  sharp  angularity  as  those  at  Wynne- 
stay.  At  Wyck,  however,  the  cornice  runs 
only  beneath  the  eaves,  and  does  not  extend 
across  the  wall  at  the  gable  end.  This  exten- 
sion of  the  cornice  as  a  string  course  was  more 
apt  to  occur  in  houses  of  Welsh  or  English 
build,  while  the  Germans,  one  of  whom  built 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  73 

Wyck,  usually  left  their  gable  ends  unadorned. 
In  fact,  there  is  no  cornice  at  all  at  the  gable 
ends  of  Wyck,  and  the  junction  of  wall  and  roof 
is  marked  only  by  plain  barge-boards,  beyond 
which  the  roof  edge  scarcely  projects.  At 
Wyck  the  pitch  of  the  roof  is  not  so  steep  as 
at  Wynnestay,  and  it  may  be  remarked  that 
the  flatter  pitch  was  generally  found  on  Colonial 
houses  built  by  the  Germans,  and  also  in  the 
later  English  Colonial  houses. 

Both  Wynnestay  and  Wyck,  different  as  they 
may  be  in  national  tradition,  are  alike  in  their 
thoroughgoing  staunchness,  their  straightfor- 
ward simplicity  of  expression  and  detail  and 
their  utter  lack  of  all  conscious  attempt  at 
adornment.  It  is  true,  both  houses  have  dis- 
tinct elements  of  charm  and  embellishment, 
arising  from  such  details  as  the  trellises  and 
long  transoms  with  little  lights  at  Wyck,  or  the 
hoods  above  the  doors  and  the  extension  of  the 
cornice  across  the  gable-end  walls  at  Wynne- 
stay,  but  the  effect  is  wholly  fortuitous  and  not 
the  result  of  design.  Both  houses  are  thor- 
oughly typical  of  most  of  the  contemporary 
dwellings,  and  because  of  their  escape  from 
damaging  alterations  no  part  of  their  charm  has 
been  impaired.  Both,  too,  well  exemplify  archi- 
tectural modes  that  have  continued  uninter- 
ruptedly in  use  to  our  own  day.  In  the  por- 
tions of  the  country  where  the  English  element 


74   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

predominates,  the  little  peculiarities  of  English 
tradition  are  still  plainly  observable  in  modern 
work,  while  in  the  parts  of  the  country  where 
the  Pennsylvania  German  element  is  most 
numerous,  it  is  easy  to  trace,  even  in  small 
matters,  the  enduring  influence  of  German 
architectural  tradition,  introduced  by  the  early 
German  settlers.  Indeed,  we  may  very  prop- 
erly compare  the  persistence  of  architectural 
minutiae  to  the  persistence  of  family  traits  and 
features  in  the  human  race.  So  much,  then, 
for  worthy  specimens  of  Pennsylvania  styles 
that  are  truly  Colonial.  The  instances  given 
are  by  no  means  isolated,  but  stand  as  repre- 
sentatives of  a  numerous  class  of  buildings  to 
be  found  not  only  in  Pennsylvania,  but  in  Dela- 
ware and  New  Jersey. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  it  should  be  noted 
that  the  brick  farmhouses  of  New  Jersey,  while 
often  following  closely  the  type  noted  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, occasionally  assumed,  as  the  period  wore 
on,  much  more  bulky  proportions  than  the 
dwellings  of  the  early  settlers,  the  roof  rising 
to  a  considerable  height,  and  the  body  of  the 
structure  assuming  great  depth  as  well  as 
breadth.  Some  of  these  great  brick  structures 
date  from  a  comparatively  early  period,  and 
may  be  attributed  to  the  rapidly  increasing 
prosperity  of  the  West  Jersey  planters,  who  had 
the    advantage    of    the    Pennsylvania    settlers 


MORAVIAN    SISTERS'     HOUSE,    BETHLEHEM,     PA.      1748. 


THE     SAAL,     EPHRATA,     PA. 
Strong  German  influence. 


TYPES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  75 

through  their  considerably  earlier  settlement. 
The  oldest  houses  were  usually  built  on  points 
of  land  stretching  out  into  the  numerous  creeks 
by  which  a  part  of  the  country  is  intersected, 
so  that  their  communication  by  water  was  always 
assured  when  the  roads  were  bad,  as  they  fre- 
quently were.  In  this  respect  they  resembled 
many  of  the  old  houses  of  Virginia  and  Maryland. 
The  walls  of  some  of  these  early  Jersey  houses 
are  made  of  thick  planks,  tightly  grooved  to- 
gether with  a  sliding  tongue,  and  stand  today 
as  staunch  and  true  as  when  they  were  first 
built.  Stone  was  not  a  popular  building  ma- 
terial in  Jersey,  but  brick  was  generally  used 
instead,  and  for  brick  was  sometimes  substituted 
a  kind  of  adobe  or  large  block  of  sun-baked  marl. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  long  narrow 
transom  of  small  lights  which  we  so  often  find 
over  house  doors  in  the  Colonial  period  and  the 
first  phase  of  the  Georgian,  seems  to  be  a  rem- 
nant of  Queen  Anne  tradition  that  got  into  Eng- 
lish architecture  from  Dutch  sources,  probably 
in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary  when  such  a 
large  importation  of  Dutch  ideas  and  Dutch 
practices  came  into  England. 

While  noting  foreign  influences  in  Colonial 
architecture  we  must  not  forget  to  include  the 
tendency  to  steep  pitch  and  also  gambrel  forms 
in  roofs  shown  by  the  Swedish  colonists.  Nor 
should  we  forget  to  chronicle  two  exceedingly 


76   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

interesting  specimens  of  wholly  foreign  appear- 
ance that  were  erected  in  Pennsylvania  at  an 
early  date.  One  is  the  Moravian  Sisters'  House, 
at  Bethlehem,  erected  about  1748  and  the  other 
is  the  Saal  or  great  hall  of  the  monastery  at 
Ephrata,  built  by  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists 
about  the  same  time.  The  tiny  dormers  are 
exact  replicas  of  the  dormers  to  be  seen  on  the 
towering  and  seemingly  boundless  roofs  of  any 
old  German  town  while  the  small,  irregularly 
placed  windows  and  steeply  pitched,  high  roof 
of  the  Ephrata  Saal  make  the  building  look  as 
though  it  might  have  been  transplanted  bodily 
from  Niirnberg  or  Rothenburg. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE     COLONIAL    ARCHITECTURE    OP    THE     SOUTH 

A  CLOSE  student  of  the  English  language, 
thoroughly  conversant  with  all  the  local 
peculiarities  that  characterise  the  speech 
of  the  several  parts  of  our  country  comprised 
within  the  bounds  of  the  original  Thirteen  Colo- 
nies, knows  that  different  words  and  expressions, 
retaining  their  seventeenth  or  eighteenth  cen- 
tury significance,  have  lingered  in  different  com- 
munities. The  mountaineers  of  Kentucky  still 
replenish  their  pipes  from  "pokes"  of  tobacco; 
in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  insufficiently  baked 
bread  is  said  not  to  have  "soaked"  long  enough, 
meaning  that  it  has  not  stayed  in  the  oven  as 
long  as  it  ought;  in  Pennsylvania  we  still 
"fetch"  things  when  we  go  for  them  and 
bring  them  back  with  us;  and  the  soles  of 
outworn  New  England  shoes  are  "tapped," 
though  they  may  be  "half -soled"  in  other  parts 
of  the  country,  and  New  England  nags  are 
"baited"  at  inn  stables.  Now  all  these  archa- 
isms, if  one  chooses  so  to  call  them,  are  of  im- 
peccable English  derivation,  though  many  of 

77 


78  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

them  have  long  since  fallen  into  disuse  in  Eng- 
land, and  they  were  of  common  and  correct 
usage  at  the  time  of  the  colonists'  emigration  to 
the  New  World.  The  Colonies  were  always  con- 
servative —  provincial  places  usually  are  —  and 
our  very  retention  of  the  virile  forms  of  speech 
in  ordinary  use  in  the  England  of  the  Stuarts 
and  the  House  of  Hanover  has  contributed  not 
a  little  to  the"  foundation  of  our  just  boast  that 
the  English  spoken  today  in  Virginia,  Maryland, 
parts  of  the  Carolinas,  eastern  Pennsylvania 
and  New  England  is  better  and  purer  than  most 
of  the  English  now  spoken  in  England  itself. 
The  only  feature  of  this  phenomenon  of  speech 
persistence  not  fully  explicable  is  the  fact  that 
certain  parts  of  linguistic  tradition  have  been 
perpetuated  in  some  parts  of  the  country  while 
others  are  to  be  found  only  in  localities  far  re- 
moved so  that  a  Virginian's  allusion  to  bread 
insufficiently  "soaked"  would  be  unintelligible 
in  Massachusetts. 

If  the  vitality  of  usage  is  so  noticeable  in  a 
fluid  and  mutable  thing  like  language,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  architecture,  which  is  visible 
and  comparatively  permanent  in  its  manifesta- 
tion, should  exhibit  in  a  markedly  obvious 
manner  an  adherence  to  traditional  forms.  Nor 
is  it  surprising,  considering  the  diversity  of  the 
speech  forms  singled  out  by  chance  for  perpetua- 
tion in  different  parts  of  the  country,  to  find  a 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      79 

similar  diversity  in  the  retention  of  local  archi- 
tectural forms,  though  all  may  be  of  purely  Eng- 
lish origin. 

The  greater  part  of  the  South,  like  New  Eng- 
land, was  wholly  English  in  blood  and  the  small 
element  of  foreign  extraction  was  not  sufficient 
to  exert  any  appreciable  influence  upon  archi- 
tectural types.  The  South  had  no  numerous 
Welsh,  Swedish  or  German  contingent,  such  as 
there  was  in  Pennsylvania,  and  no  Dutch  ma- 
jority, as  in  New  York,  either  to  create  an 
exotic  bias  and  modify  the  expression  of  its 
architectural  heritage  or  to  seek  independent 
utterance  in  the  same  territory.  It  was  Eng- 
lish to  the  core  and  so  was  the  architecture. 
Only,  as  in  the  matter  of  speech,  we  find  that 
traditions  somewhat  different  from  those  mani- 
fested in  New  England  were  chosen  for  preser- 
vation. This  was  partly  due,  no  doubt,  as  has 
already  been  pointed  out,  to  the  preponderance 
of  the  Saxon  strain  in  the  South  while  New 
England  settlers  could  trace  some  of  their  heredi- 
tary preferences  to  the  fact  that  so  many  of 
them  came  from  the  Danish  parts  of  old  England. 
The  traditions  transplanted  to  American  soil  by 
the  Southern  settlers  flourished  not  only  dur- 
ing the  period  antecedent  to  the  advent  of  the 
Georgian  mode  but  persisted  concurrently  with 
it  and  their  influence  is  plainly  to  be  detected 
in  houses  erected  within  the  memory  of  people 


80   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

still  living.  They  are  so  distinctly  individual 
and  so  different  from  the  forms  to  be  seen  in  the 
Northern  or  the  Middle  States  that  they  may 
be  readily  recognised  at  a  superficial  glance 
from  the  windows  of  a  speeding  railway  car- 
riage. Judging  from  the  light  thrown  on  the 
subject  by  recent  research  and  restorations,  it 
is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  colonists  of 
the  South  and  the  colonists  of  New  England 
adhered,  at  first,  to  not  a  few  architectural 
practices  identically  the  same.  As  an  instance 
we  may  refer  to  the  chimney  built  to  its  full 
height  outside  the  house  wall.  This  feature 
endured  in  the  South,  while  in  New  England  it 
was  practically  discontinued  at  an  early  period. 
The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  rigours  of 
New  England  winters  demanded  the  conser- 
vation of  all  available  heat  and  it  was  simply 
common  sense  to  enclose  the  chimney  within 
the  house  walls,  and  let  none  of  the  warmth, 
emanating  from  the  heated  stones  or  bricks  of 
the  chimney  breast  and  flue,  escape  into  the 
outer  air  and  be  wasted.  The  more  moderate 
climate  of  the  South  did  not  require  such  care- 
ful conservation  and  so  the  outside  chimney  re- 
tained its  old  form.  So  it  doubtless  was,  also, 
with  other  features  so  that  the  divergence  in 
local  forms,  apart  from  the  matter  of  hereditary 
choice  of  materials  and  the  modes  of  crafts- 
manship thereby  involved,  already  alluded  to, 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      81 

soon  became  pronounced  and  created  a  crystal- 
lised type.  What  were  the  distinguishing  char- 
acteristics of  this  type,  we  shall  shortly  learn. 
It  will,  however,  be  helpful  to  our  general  under- 
standing first  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  social  life 
of  the  period  when  the  Southern  Colonial  house 
was  in  process  of  evolution. 

The  earliest  settlers  in  Virginia  were,  for  the 
most  part,  gentle  born.  They  were,  in  some 
cases,  brothers,  nephews  or  younger  sons  of 
peers  of  the  realm.  Such  was  George  Percy, 
brother  to  the  Earl  of  Northumberland.  More 
commonly  they  were  drawn  from  the  families 
of  the  lesser  nobility  and  from  the  untitled 
squirearchy  of  county  families  or^else  from  the 
prosperous  mercantile  or  professional  classes. 
Either  they  personally  or  their  relatives,  who 
assisted  in  establishing  them  in  their  venture  of 
colonisation,  were  in  comfortable  circumstances 
so  that  they  could  count  upon  having  at  least 
a  reasonably  advantageous  start  in  the  new 
land  and  were,  therefore,  from  the  outset  in  a 
condition  soon  to  improve  their  estate  by  em- 
bracing the  abundant  opportunities  fortune 
offered  them.  Besides  this  politically  prepond- 
erant class,  there  were  numerous  indentured 
servants  and  artisans,  many  of  whom,  upon  the 
expiration  of  their  bonds,  acquired  land  and 
became  prosperous  planters.  Last  of  all,  there 
were  the  negro  slaves  who  were  brought  into 


82  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF.  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  colony  at  an  early  period  and  rapidly  in- 
creased in  numbers.  Social  distinctions  were 
quite  as  sharply  defined  and  rigidly  observed 
in  Virginia  and  the  other  Southern  colonies  as 
in  England  and  social  customs  remained  un- 
changed by  transference  across  the  sea.  The 
closest  and  most  affectionate  intercourse  that 
circumstances  would  permit  was  maintained  with 
friends  and  relatives  in  the  Mother  Country. 
In  a  word,  Virginia  was  merely  a  detached  and 
expanded  bit  of  England  and  life  went  on  much 
as  though  the  Atlantic  did  not  exist,  save  for 
the  inevitable  delay  in  communication.  As  was 
life  in  early  Virginia,  so  was  it  substantially,  at 
least  so  far  as  our  present  purpose  is  concerned, 
in  the  other  Southern  colonies,  so  that  we  may 
regard  Virginia  conditions  as  typical. 

For  all  the  ease  of  life,  the  abundance  of 
creature  comforts,  the  importation  of  personal 
and  household  luxuries  and  necessities  by  every 
ship  that  entered  the  capes  and  the  general 
prosperity  made  possible  by  a  kindly  soil  and 
climate  in  conjunction  with  favourable  economic 
conditions,  the  measure  of  affluence,  even  among 
the  wealthiest,  was  not  sufficient  during  the 
first  fifty  or  seventy-five  years  of  Virginia's 
existence  to  justify  reckless  or  lavish  expendi- 
ture upon  the  fabric  of  the  dwelling  house.  The 
homes  of  the  planters,  therefore,  though  com- 
fortably  and   even  luxuriously   appointed,   ac- 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      83 

cording  to  the  standards  of  the  period,  were 
modest  in  size  and  unpretentious  in  character. 
When  Nicholas  Hayward  determined  to  estab- 
lish one  of  his  children  on  a  plantation  in  Vir- 
ginia and  wrote  to  William  Fitzhugh,  one  of  the 
wealthiest  and  most  influential  planters,  de- 
siring information  and  advice,  the  latter  replied, 
pointing  out  the  course  pursued  by  many  of 
the  other  planters,  that  the  wisest  plan  would 
be  to  import  indentured  bricklayers  and  car- 
penters from  England  who,  in  the  course  of  the 
four  or  five  years  for  which  they  were  bound, 
could  erect  a  substantial  house,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  by  the  performance  of  other  labour  for 
which  they  might  be  hired  out,  earn  enough  to 
pay  for  the  cost  of  building  materials  and  their 
keep  as  well.  Fitzhugh  also  counselled  Hay- 
ward  not  to  build  a  large  dwelling  and  even 
questioned  the  advisability  of  putting  up  "an 
English  framed  house  of  the  ordinary  size"  as 
the  charges  for  skilled  artisans  were  excessive. 
He  added  that  his  own  dwelling  had  cost  thrice 
the  sum  a  house  of  like  size  would  have  cost  in 
London  and  that  it  usually  took  three  times  as 
long  to  complete  the  same  amount  of  work  as 
it  did  in  England. 

Notwithstanding  his  inherited  preference  for 
stone  and  brick  as  building  materials,  the  early 
Virginia  colonist  had  perforce  to  make  a  virtue 
of  necessity  and  build  his  house  of  wood.    Al- 


84   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

though,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  Virginia 
colonist  took  to  brick  and  stone  when  circum- 
stances permitted  —  they  were  almost  univer- 
sally used  so  soon  as  the  Georgian  influence  began 
to  be  felt  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth  con- 
duced thereto  —  the  necessary  dependence  upon 
wood  at  the  outset  created  a  precedent  and 
launched  a  Southern  tradition  that  has  sub- 
sisted to  our  own  day.  In  many  parts  of  the 
Old  Dominion  there  was  practically  no  stone 
to  be  had  and  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  secure 
even  enough  for  chimneys.  Often  all  depend- 
ence for  this  purpose  had  to  be  placed  upon 
brick  and  brick  was  none  too  easy  to  come  by  at 
first.  Good  brick  clay,  to  be  sure,  was  abun- 
dant and  the  manufacture  of  bricks  received 
encouragement  from  the  first  but  there  were 
serious  difficulties  in  the  way  of  transporta- 
tion after  the  bricks  were  made  and  by  the  time 
these  difficulties  were  surmounted  many  of  the 
older  houses  had  been  built  and  it  was  hardly 
to  be  expected  that  the  planters,  after  construct- 
ing substantial  and  comfortable  abodes  of 
timber  would  demolish  them  and  replace  them 
by  others  of  brick,  after  brick  was  more  plenti- 
ful, merely  to  comply  with  the  arbitrary  direc- 
tions issued  by  the  authorities  in  England  when, 
in  1637,  they  instructed  Governour  Wyatt 
"to  require  every  landowner  whose  plantation 
was  an  hundred  acres  in  extent  to  erect  a  dwell- 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      85 

ing  house  of  brick,  to  be  twenty-four  feet  in 
length  and  sixteen  feet  in  breadth,  with  a  cellar 
attached.  In  the  cases  where  the  area  of  the 
grant  exceeded  five  hundred  acres,  the  size  of 
the  dwelling  house  was  to  enlarge  in  proportion." 

The  earliest  Southern  houses  in  Virginia  and 
elsewhere,  after  the  brief  log-cabin  stage  had 
been  passed,  we  may  feel  assured  were  of  wooden 
construction  with  brick  or  sometimes  stone 
chimneys.  All  about  was  the  greatest  abun- 
dance of  the  finest  pine,  cypress,  cedar,  oak, 
chestnut,  hickory,  elm  and  ash  timber  which 
fully  answered  for  all  structural  needs  and  the 
feather-edged  plank  or  clapboard,  nailed  to  the 
framing  of  posts,  studs,  girts  and  cills  was  in 
common  use  for  building  purposes.  It  was 
probably  owing  to  the  absence  of  stone  and  the 
comparative  scarcity  of  bricks  at  an  early  date 
that  we  do  not  find  evidences  of  attempted  half- 
timber  construction  with  clay  and  brick  or  clay 
and  stone  pugging  as  we  do  in  New  England  at 
the  same  period. 

It  was  only  at  first,  however,  that  there  was 
a  scarcity  of  bricks  and  even  then  the  difficulty 
in  obtaining  them  was  more  a  matter  of  trans- 
portation than  of  supply.  Brickmakers  and 
bricklayers  were  among  the  first  artisans 
brought  over  and  from  the  very  infancy  of  the 
colony,  as  just  stated,  brick-making  was  en- 
couraged.    Indeed,    at    an   early    date,    bricks 


86   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

became  an  important  article  of  export  to  Ber- 
muda, whence  limestone  was  fetched  back  in 
exchange.  There  was  abundance  of  brick  to 
supply  the  home  demand  and  the  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  its  wider  use  by  the  first  generation 
or  two  of  planters  was  the  difficulty  of  getting 
it  from  the  kilns  to  the  sites  where  it  was  to  be 
used  and  not,  as  some  suppose,  the  necessity  of 
importing  it  from  England.  It  is  pointed  out 
in  another  chapter  that  the  so-called  "English 
brick"  was  merely  brick  made  according  to 
English  dimensions  and  so  termed  to  distin- 
guish it  from  brick  fashioned  after  the  Dutch 
pattern.  Very  few  of  the  old  brick  buildings 
were  constructed  of  imported  material  and, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  it  would  have 
been  the  height  of  folly  to  send  overseas  for  it, 
even  though  it  might  come  as  ballast.  In 
Virginia,  bricks  were  rated  from  eight  to  fifteen 
shillings  a  thousand  while,  in  England,  between 
1650  and  1700,  their  price  was  eighteen  shillings 
and  upward  a  thousand.  As  the  seventeenth 
century  advanced  bricks  became  increasingly 
plentiful  in  the  South.  After  Sir  Thomas 
Dale's  arrival  and  the  establishment  of  his  new 
enterprise  at  Henrico  City,  the  first-floor  walls 
of  the  houses  in  that  place  were  built  of  brick 
burned  in  the  kilns  that  were  there  set  up,  but 
when  Secretary  Kemp,  in  1638,  built  a  brick 
house  at  Jamestown,  it  was  probably  the  first 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTUKE  OF  THE  SOUTH      87 

dwelling  entirely  constructed  of  brick  in  the 
South.  After  this,  other  brick  houses  were 
erected  in  Jamestown  and,  subsequently,  Govern- 
our  Berkeley  built  himself  a  brick  house  at  Green 
Spring,  about  two  miles  distant.  It  was  not 
usual,  however,  to  employ  brick  very  exten- 
sively till  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  or  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
when  ample  fortunes  had  accumulated  and 
transportation  possibilities  had  somewhat  im- 
proved. Even  then,  the  use  of  brick  was  by 
no  means  universal  but  was  largely  dependent 
upon  local  conditions,  although  there  was  un- 
questionably a  preference  for  it  over  wood  when 
it  could  readily  be  come  by. 

Whether  wood  was  used  or  brick,  the  South- 
ern houses  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the 
fore  part  of  the  eighteenth  conformed  pretty 
closely  to  the  same  architectural  type  and  even 
in  the  more  ambitious  dwellings,  erected  by  the 
very  wealthy  towards  the  end  of  this  period, 
there  was  generally  no  radical  departure  from 
the  accustomed  style.  For  the  most  part,  the 
homes  of  even  the  most  affluent  planters  were 
simple  in  plan  and  plain  in  appearance.  The 
typical  dwelling  was  an  oblong  structure  with 
the  house  door  on  one  of  the  long  fronts,  a 
steeply -pitched  roof,  a  chimney  at  each  end,  and 
often  had  but  one  full  floor  with  an  attic  above 
it,  although  a  more  commodious  second  floor 


88   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

was  by  no  means  uncommon.  In  1679,  Major 
Thomas  Chamberlayne,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Henrico,  contracted  with  one  Gates,  a  car- 
penter of  the  same  county,  to  build  him  a 
frame  house,  forty  feet  long  by  twenty  feet  wide. 
The  outside  walls  were  to  be  boarded  and  there 
was  to  be  no  cellar,  but  the  framework  was  to 
be  supported  on  cills  resting  on  the  ground. 
Upper  and  lower  floors  were  each  to  be  divided 
by  wooden  partitions  into  two  rooms.  At  each 
end  there  was  to  be  a  brick  chimney.  So  many 
descriptions  of  similar  houses  and  specifications 
for  their  erection  occur  in  seventeenth-century 
documents  that  we  are  quite  justified  in  regard- 
ing them  as  typical  of  the  period.  The  Adam 
Thoroughgood  house,  built  of  brick  in  Princess 
Anne  County,  Virginia,  between  1640  and  1650, 
presented  the  same  general  contour.  The  roofs 
were  customarily  of  cypress  shingles  although 
tiles  were  subsequently  employed  to  some  ex- 
tent. The  pitch  of  the  roof  closely  resembled 
the  pitch  of  some  of  the  earliest  New  England 
roofs  but  in  both  the  South  and  North  there  is 
observable,  as  the  years  go  by,  a  general  ten- 
dency to  depart  from  English  precedent  and  flat- 
ten the  pitch  so  far  as  conditions  would  permit. 
In  this  connexion  it  must  also  be  remembered 
that  thatch  was  a  common  roofing  material  in 
England  and  required  a  steep  pitch  in  order  to 
shed  the  rain  quickly  while  the  use  of  shingles 


Copyright,  J.  B.  I.ippinoott  Co. 

ADAM     THOROUGHGOOD    HOUSE,     PRINCESS    AXXE 
COUNTY,     VA.     BUILT     C.     1640. 


GOVERNOUR    KDI 
Unusual    example    <>f 


N     HOUSE,     EDEN  TON,     N.     C. 
overhang    in    Southern    architecture. 


HOUSE    AT    YORKTOWN,    VA. 
With    typical    outside    chimneys    at    ends. 


"HOSPITAL"    HOUSE,    YORKTOWN,    VA. 
Of  Southern   Colonial   type. 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      89 

permitted  a  less  abrupt  angle  without  impairing 
the  water-shedding  qualities  of  the  roof. 

One  of  the  most  strongly  characteristic  fea- 
tures of  these  houses  was  supplied  by  the  outside 
chimneys  at  each  end.  They  were  of  brick  or 
of  stone,  when  by  chance  it  could  be  secured, 
and  occasionally,  in  some  of  the  later  houses 
built  according  to  this  early  tradition,  they  are 
of  brick  and  stone  combined,  the  stone  being 
used  for  the  heavy  base  while  the  stack  is  made 
of  brick.  Throughout  their  whole  height,  these 
chimneys  were  built  outside  the  house  wall, 
whether  the  house  was  of  timber  or  brick,  and 
were  broad  at  the  base  narrowing  down  by  suc- 
cessive stages  of  sloped  weatherings  and  offsets, 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  a  Gothic  buttress, 
to  the  bottom  of  the  stack  which  rises  straight 
and  slim  by  comparison  with  its  substructure. 
The  chimney  of  the  Thoroughgood  house  is  an 
excellent  example  of  this  method  of  chimney 
treatment.  The  Southern  exterior  chimneys,  in 
many  cases,  had  the  sloped  weatherings  and 
offsets  both  at  sides  and  back  while  the  few 
early  New  England  chimneys  of  the  same  type 
were  usually  flat  at  the  back  and  were  graded 
off  only  at  the  sides. 

Another  noticeable  characteristic  of  the  early 
Southern  houses  is  to  be  seen  in  the  long  dormers 
with  sharp-peaked  gables  that  often  pierced 
the  roofs,  quite  in  contrast  to  the  comparative 


90  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

rarity  of  dormers  in  the  early  New  England 
houses  of  similar  date.  The  same  manner  of 
introducing  a  sharp-peaked  dormer  or  small 
gable  into  the  side  of  a  pitch  roof  is  to  be  seen 
over  the  doors  of  some  of  the  old  Southern  barns. 
The  occurrence  of  the  gambrel  is  not  nearly  so 
frequent  as  in  the  North  nor  do  we  find  evidences 
of  framing  with  the  overhang.  It  may  be  that 
this  last  mentioned  point  of  difference  between 
the  South  and  North  can  in  part  be  accounted 
for  on  the  ground  that  the  overhang  in  England 
lingered  longest  and  met  with  most  favour  in 
towns  while  in  the  open  country  it  was  less 
in  evidence.  As  many  of  the  New  England 
colonists  came  from  towns  while  a  great  pro- 
portion of  those  in  the  South  came  from  rural 
surroundings,  it  was  but  natural  that  both 
should  perpetuate  the  features  to  which  they 
were  most  accustomed.  This  hypothesis,  of 
course,  is  purely  conjectural  but  it  is  by  no 
means  impossible  since  very  slight  and  trifling 
matters  often  serve  to  determine  choice.  In 
the  smaller  and  humbler  dwellings  of  the  South 
were  to  be  found  the  same  general  method  of 
construction  and  the  same  features  of  contour 
as  in  their  larger  prototypes. 

It  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  lay  down 
any  specific  generalisations  regarding  the  interior 
plan  of  the  early  Southern  houses  inasmuch  as 
they  varied  widely  in  different  instances  accord- 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      91 

ing  to  the  individual  requirements  of  the  occu- 
pants, the  size  of  their  families  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  saw  fit  to  make  additions  from 
time  to  time  as  necessity  dictated.  We  have 
seen  that  Major  Thomas  Chamberlayne's  house 
had  two  rooms  upstairs  and  two  rooms  down, 
divided  by  wooden  partitions  which  may  or  may 
not  have  been  covered  with  tenacious  clay 
stucco  and  whitewashed.  In  this  manner  walls 
were  sometimes  finished,  at  others  they  were 
wainscotted.  The  windows  were  glazed  with 
small  panes  set  in  lead.  In  the  house  of  Gov- 
ernour  Berkeley  at  Green  Spring  were  six  apart- 
ments while  that  of  William  Fitzhugh,  which 
however  had  undergone  sundry  additions,  num- 
bered twelve  or  thirteen.  The  Stratton  house 
in  Henrico  had  three  chambers  above  stairs 
and  one  below  along  with  a  hall,  kitchen,  and 
pantry.  In  York  County  we  are  told  of 
houses  that  had  only  a  hall  or  dining  room, 
a  kitchen  and  a  bedchamber  which  were  prob- 
ably all  on  one  floor.  Then,  again,  there 
were  houses  with  a  hall  and  kitchen  on  the 
lower  floor  and  a  chamber  above,  while  some 
of  the  wealthier  people  had  commonly  three 
or  four  rooms  on  each  floor.  In  all  events, 
the  houses  followed  the  same  general  plan  and 
where  there  were  many  apartments  they  were 
apt  to  be  in  the  nature  of  ells  or  extensions 
clustered    in    a    rambling    manner    about    the 


92   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

central  core  which  was  of  the  type  common  to 
the  country. 

Three  features  are  deserving  of  particular 
attention  in  the  plan  of  the  early  Southern 
house,  however  varied  its  internal  arrangements 
might  otherwise  be,  and  the  more  so  because 
they  persisted  and  found  a  recognised  place 
in  the  plan  of  the  Georgian  house  as  it  was  de- 
veloped in  the  South.  In  the  first  place,  the 
hall,  which  was  also  referred  to  as  the  dining 
hall  or  parlour  hall,  was  wide  and  afforded 
ample  space  and  circulation  of  air.  It  was  the 
place  where  meals  were  commonly  eaten  and 
where  the  family  sat.  The  house  door  opened 
directly  into  it  and  it  exactly  corresponded  with 
and  fulfilled  the  functions  of  the  great  hall  in 
the  small  manor  houses  of  England.  This 
interior  disposition  of  the  house  was  suited  to 
the  climate  and  when  the  Georgian  mode  rose 
in  the  ascendant  the  wide  hallway,  often  extend- 
ing the  full  depth  of  the  building  and  used  more 
or  less  as  a  living  room,  was  retained.  It  was 
quite  in  contrast  to  the  small  entry  or  the  narrow 
stair-hall  of  New  England  houses  which  the 
rigours  of  New  England  winters  made  it  desir- 
able to  have  as  a  protection  for  the  rest  of  the 
house  when  the  house  door  was  opened.  In 
the  second  place,  the  Southern  housewife  often 
found  it  convenient  and  desirable  in  the  scheme 
of  her  domestic  economy  to  have  the  kitchen 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      93 

in  a  separate  building  somewhat  removed  from 
the  body  of  the  house.  There  were  servants 
enough  to  make  this  arrangement  practicable 
and  the  mild  climate  favoured  it  also.  Besides, 
this  plan  fitted  in  well  with  the  practice  of 
having  the  servants'  quarters  outside  the  house. 
This  feature  of  detached  kitchens  was  also 
perpetuated  in  the  Georgian  era  and  not  only 
was  its  influence  felt  in  the  South  but  we  find 
instances  of  it  in  Pennsylvania.  Such  was  the 
arrangement  at  Graeme  Park,  Horsham,  near 
Philadelphia,  built  in  1722  by  Sir  William  Keith, 
whom  we  know  was  favourably  impressed  by 
the  manner  of  living  in  the  South  where  he  had 
visited  prior  to  establishing  himself  at  Horsham. 
We  also  find  the  detached  offices  and  servants' 
quarters  at  Stenton,  the  home  of  James  Logan ; 
at  Hope  Lodge,  Whitemarsh  and  at  Mount 
Pleasant,  the  home  of  that  doughty  and  ingen- 
ious old  sailor  man  and  merchant,  Captain  John 
Macpherson,  afterwards  the  scene  of  much 
lavish  entertainment  by  Benedict  Arnold  and 
his  bride  when  they  occupied  it  for  a  brief 
season.  The  same  arrangement  also  obtained 
at  Cliveden  and  was  not  improbably  suggested 
to  Chief  Justice  Chew  by  the  recollection  of  a 
similar  plan  in  the  homes  of  his  Southern  kins- 
folk. This  feature  of  the  detached  kitchen 
forms  an  interesting  point  of  connexion  be- 
tween the  domestic  Georgian  architecture  of  the 


94   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

Middle  Colonies  and  that  of  the  Southern.  In 
the  third  place,  the  majority  of  the  Southern 
Colonial  houses  had  one  or  more  bedchambers 
on  the  ground  floor.  This  feature  proved  itself 
of  practical  convenience  and,  like  the  other  two 
just  enumerated,  was  often  perpetuated  in  the 
Georgian  mode.  Indeed,  the  practice  has  con- 
tinued in  favour  to  our  own  day. 

In  his  valuable  "Economic  History  of  Vir- 
ginia in  the  Seventeenth  Century ",  Philip 
Bruce  gives  a  graphic  pen  picture  of  the  ordinary 
surroundings  of  the  seventeenth-century  Vir- 
ginia planter's  house,  a  picture  that  may  equally 
well  apply  to  the  generality  of  houses  in  the 
other  Southern  colonies  at  the  same  period. 
After  noting  the  usual  plainness  and  simplicity 
of  the  environment,  he  goes  on  to  say :  —  "The 
yard,  as  it  was  called,  consisted  of  open  ground, 
overshadowed  here  and  there  by  trees.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  house  was  situated 
the  garden,  devoted  partly  to  vegetables  and 
partly  to  flowers,  thyme,  marjoram  and  phlox 
being  as  abundant  there  as  in  England.  Many 
of  the  flowers  and  shrubs  had  only  recently 
been  brought  from  the  mother  country.  Byrd 
is  discovered  in  1684  writing  to  his  brother  in 
England,  and  thanking  him  for  the  gooseberry 
and  currant  bushes  which  had  just  been  re- 
ceived ;  in  the  same  year  he  expresses  to  a  sec- 
ond correspondent  his  appreciation  of  a  gift  of 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      95 

seeds  and  roots,  which  had  been  planted  and 
had  safely  flowered  [iris,  tulip,  crocus  and 
anemone].  The  summer  houses,  arbours  and 
grottoes,  which  Beverley  declares  were  to  be 
found  near  the  residences,  were  doubtless  gen- 
erally situated  in  the  garden,  and  were  erected 
to  afford  a  cool  place  of  retreat  in  the  warmest 
hours  of  the  summer  day ;  the  garden  itself 
was  always  protected  by  a  paling  to  keep  out 
the  hogs  and  cattle  which  were  permitted  to 
wander  without  restraint.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  dwellings  of  the  wealthy  land- 
owners, there  were,  as  a  rule,  grouped  the  dove- 
cot, stable,  barn,  henhouse,  cabins  for  the  ser- 
vants, kitchen  and  milk-house,  the  object  of 
this  in  the  last  instances  being  to  remove  from 
the  mansion  the  operations  of  cooking,  washing 
and  dairying.  In  many  yards,  a  tall  pole  with 
a  toy  house  at  the  top  was  erected,  in  which 
the  bee  martin  might  build  its  nest,  this  bird 
bravely  attacking  the  hawk  and  crow,  and 
thus  serving  as  a  guardian  of  the  poultry." 
It  would  not  be  difficult  to  find  the  counterpart 
of  these  conditions  in  many  a  place  in  the  South 
today,  that  is  to  say,  in  places  patterned  after 
the  Colonial  tradition,  in  which  the  formal 
Georgian  element  has  never  played  an  important 
part  nor  led  to  the  laying  out  of  great,  sym- 
metrically-planned  gardens. 

Of   the  more  elegant  and  substantially  built 


96   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

brick  houses  that  characterised  the  end  of  the 
period  when  the  truly  Colonial  style  still  pre- 
vailed, it  will  sufficiently  serve  our  present  pur- 
pose if  we  refer  specifically  to  two,  one  in  Anne 
Arundel  County,  Maryland,  and  the  other  on 
the  Cooper  River  in  South  Carolina.  The  first 
is  Cedar  Park,  on  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake, 
built  about  1692.  It  consists  of  one  full  floor 
above  whose  window-heads  project  the  eaves 
of  the  steep-pitched  roof  in  which  is  contained 
a  roomy  attic  or  concealed  second  floor,  if  that 
designation  seems  more  agreeable,  lighted  by 
dormer  windows.  Its  exterior  aspect  coincides 
in  all  particulars  with  the  features  previously 
noted  as  characteristic  of  the  Southern  Colonial 
type  of  house  whether  constructed  of  brick 
or  wood.  It  is  in  an  excellent  state  of  preser- 
vation and  the  additions  and  wings  that  have 
been  appended  in  no  wise  obscure  the  contour 
and  identity  of  the  original  type.  There  is 
not  one  feature  about  the  house  to  suggest 
Georgian  influence  or  Georgian  formality.  The 
internal  arrangement,  also,  agrees  with  the 
plan  of  the  type  common  to  other  domestic 
structures  erected  in  the  South  during  the  seven- 
teenth century.  There  is  the  great  central 
hall  into  which  the  house  door  opens,  a  hall 
through  which  one  could  readily  drive  a  coach 
and  four  if  there  were  occasion  and  there  are 
adjacent  bedchambers  on  the  first  floor.     The 


COLONIAL  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH      97 

other  apartments  are  grouped  about  as  con- 
venience has  dictated  their  placing  at  the  times 
when  additions  were  made.  At  the  opposite 
end  of  the  great  hall  from  the  house  door  a  flight 
of  steps  descends  into  an  ancient  hedged  garden, 
bounded  by  the  waters  of  the  bay. 

The  other  house  is  Mulberry  Castle,  built 
in  1714.  While  obviously  not  Georgian  in  its 
salient  characteristics,  Mulberry  Castle  cer- 
tainly gives  evidence  of  more  ambitious  design 
than  was  usual  at  the  precise  period  of  its  erec- 
tion. Certain  details,  it  is  true,  such  as  the 
pillared  porch  with  its  pediment,  sheltering 
the  house  door,  or  the  cornice  beneath  the 
eaves,  show  a  restrained  classic  influence  which 
we  are  accustomed  to  associate,  quite  prop- 
erly, with  the  architectural  manifestations  of  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne  or  the  first  years  of  her 
Hanoverian  successor,  but  the  general  contour 
of  the  house  savours  strongly  of  the  one-floor 
Colonial  type  with  its  steeply -pitched  roof.  In 
the  case  of  Mulberry  Castle  the  attic  or  second 
floor  has  been  so  expanded  that  the  roof  has 
assumed  approximately  the  appearance  of  a 
modern  mansard  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more 
logical  and  truthful  to  say  that  it  has  become 
a  hipped  gambrel  with  a  steep  pitch.  The 
internal  plan,  also,  is  sufficiently  irregular  to 
warrant  its  classification  with  the  Colonial 
type.     In  certain  interior  details,  such  as  the 


98   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

mantels  and  panelling,  later  additions  and 
alterations  have  evidently  been  made  which 
add  to  its  Georgian  semblance  and  emphasise  its 
transitional  aspect,  but  the  unalterable  features 
of  mass  and  arrangement  recall  us  to  the  con- 
templation of  well  known  seventeenth-century 
peculiarities. 

In  the  study  of  the  great  mass  of  all  this  truly 
Colonial  architecture  of  the  South  two  points 
strike  one  forcibly.  The  first  is  that  it  is  wholly 
different  from  the  typical  later  architecture  of 
Georgian  mode  and  is  fully  entitled  to  be  classi- 
fied by  itself.  The  second  is  that  there  is  much 
about  it,  especially  in  the  case  of  such  buildings 
as  Cedar  Park  and  Mulberry  Castle,  to  command 
our  sincere  admiration  and  serve  as  a  valuable 
model  for  modern  emulation. 


HOUSE    OF    HON.    JOHN    BLAIR,    WILLIAMSBURG, 
VA. 


CAREY    HOUSE,    WILLIAMSBURG,    VA. 

Of   true    Colonial    Southern    type. 


ROYALL    HOUSE,    MEDFORD,      MASS.     173: 
New   England   Georgian,   first   phase. 


LEE    HOUSE,    MARREEHEAD,    MASS.      1768. 
New  England  Georgian,  second  phase. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 

IT  is  nearly  always  difficult  and  sometimes 
an  ungracious  task  to  attempt  to  make 
sweeping  distinctions  and  establish  hard 
and  fast  boundary  lines.  Fortunately  for  us, 
we  meet  with  an  exception  to  this  well-nigh 
invariable  rule  in  the  case  of  marking  the  divi- 
sion between  Colonial  and  Georgian  architec- 
ture. The  one  point  on  which  we  may  seize 
to  emphasise  the  distinction  between  these 
two  modes  of  architectural  expression,  each 
exceedingly  vital  in  its  own  field,  is  the  intro- 
duction of  the  classic  element  in  ornamental 
detail  and  the  formal  or  balanced  element  in 
plan,  an  element  that  implies  both  external 
symmetry  in  the  marshalling  of  mass  and  in- 
ternal symmetry  in  determining  arrangement. 
The  Colonial  mode  of  expression  as  exemplified 
in  the  architecture  of  early  New  England,  New 
York,  the  Middle  Colonies  and  the  South, 
whatever  local  differences  it  might  exhibit, 
was  traditional  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  fortui- 

99 


100   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

tous.  That  is  to  say,  it  was  informal  and  repre- 
sented forms  which  homely  considerations  of 
convenience  and  the  process  of  gradual  cultural 
growth  had  dictated  from  time  to  time  in  the 
course  of  centuries.  It  was  also  mediaeval  in 
its  affinities  and,  for  the  most  part,  unpretentious 
because  it  embodied  only  the  essential  features 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  whether  in 
England,  Wales,  Holland,  Sweden,  or  the  Ger- 
man principalities  had  found  requisite  and 
desirable.  In  short,  it  was  a  folk  growth  and 
was  essentially  domestic  and  simple. 

Georgian  architecture,  on  the  other  hand, 
echoed  the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance.  Its  whole 
fundamental  principle  afforded  a  direct  antithesis 
to  the  conceptions  on  which  Colonial  architec- 
ture was  based.  It  breathed  the  atmosphere  of 
the  well-ordered  classicism  that  had  spread 
over  the  Continent  and  over  England  in  the 
train  of  the  New  Learning  and  had  its  outward 
concomitant  in  the  stately  creations  inspired 
by  the  masterpieces  of  Greek  and  Roman  an- 
tiquity. However  modified  by  the  successive 
media  of  its  transference  from  the  original 
springs  of  inspiration,  it  still  voiced  the  meas- 
ured formality  and  easy  restraint  inherent  in 
the  ancient  models.  It  was  essentially  the 
architecture  of  a  well-to-do,  polished  and,  if  you 
will,  somewhat  artificial  state  of  society  that 
demanded   a   medium   of   courtliness   and   cir- 


LEE    HOUSE.     BANQUET    ROOM. 


LEE    HOUSE.      STAIRWAY. 


THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND    101 

cumstance  of  surroundings  for  its  proper  exist- 
ence. The  formal  note  of  classicism  had  come 
into  English  architecture  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII,  had  flourished  apace  under  Inigo  Jones 
and  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  and  blossomed  richly 
in  domestic  forms  during  the  reigns  of  William 
and  Mary  and  Queen  Anne.  With  the  Queen 
Anne  developments,  however,  we  have  little 
direct  concern  in  America.  It  was  not  until 
after  the  first  George  had  been  some  years  on 
the  throne  that  a  marked  change  became  evident 
in  the  domestic  architecture  of  the  American 
Colonies. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  there  had  been  a  marked  increase 
in  the  wealth  of  the  country.  A  reasonable 
security  from  the  wild  alarums  of  Indian  war- 
fare and  an  orderly  and  uninterrupted  course 
of  civil  life  left  the  well-to-do  more  time  to  pay 
to  the  amenities  of  existence,  and  the  general 
growth  of  material  prosperity  provided  the 
means  to  indulge  the  taste  for  larger,  better 
and,  in  a  word,  more  pretentious  domestic  en- 
vironment that  accorded  with  the  affluence  and 
important  social  position  of  the  prominent 
citizens.  When  the  worthies  of  the  early  eigh- 
teenth century  were  thus  minded  and  encour- 
aged to  build  anew  for  themselves  and  erect 
substantial  and  more  commodious  homes  for  N 
their   own    use    and    the    enrichment   of   their 


102   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

posterity,  nothing  was  more  natural  than  that 
they  should  turn  to  the  mother  country  for  a 
suitable  style  and  pattern  to  direct  them  in 
their  new  undertaking.  They  were  always  most 
punctilious  to  follow  the  styles  of  London  in 
their  clothing  and  prided  themselves  upon  the 
accuracy  with  which  they  kept  pace  with  all 
the  changing  fashions  in  apparel  on  the  other 
side  of  the  sea.  In  like  manner,  also,  they 
looked  to  the  current  architectural  fashions  in 
England  for  inspiration  to  guide  them  in  so 
momentous  a  matter  as  the  establishment  of  a 
dwelling  suited  to  their  estate  and  fit  to  be  the 
domicile  of  succeeding  generations  of  their 
name. 

It  is  quite  true  that  certain  peculiarities 
characteristic  of  the  English  architecture  of 
Queen  Anne's  time  had  occasionally  made  their 
appearance  in  New  England  before  this  general 
efflorescence  of  the  earliest  phase  of  the  Geor- 
gian mode  and  even  considerably  afterwards 
they  were  not  wholly  wanting  —  specific  refer- 
ence will  be  made  to  them  in  a  subsequent  para- 
graph—  but  the  prevailing  architectural  tone 
from  1720  or  1725  onward  was  unmistakably 
Georgian.  Certain  modifications  were  made, 
to  be  sure,  as  expediency  suggested  or  neces- 
sity demanded,  but  despite  all  local  adaptations, 
which  will  be  pointed  out  as  they  occur  in  the 
examination   of   sundry   examples,    the    strong 


THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND    103 

family  resemblance  to  the  contemporary  domes- 
tic structures  of  England  could  not  be  over- 
looked. 

The  most  notable  piece  of  local  adaptation, 
to  which  not  even  the  uninterested  or  superficial 
observer  can  be  blind,  was  the  wholesale  graft- 
ing of  the  New  England  wooden  or  clapboard 
tradition,  which  by  this  time  had  become  ineradi- 
cably  established,  upon  a  mode  of  architectural 
expression  that  had  been  hitherto  almost  in- 
variably —  and  always  in  England  —  inter- 
preted in  brick  or  stone,  as  it  was  elsewhere  in 
the  American  Colonies.  Even  when  the  fabric 
was  virtually  built  of  brick,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Royall  house  at  Medford  or  the  Lee  house  at 
Marblehead,  it  was  encased  in  an  outer  shell 
of  wood,  sometimes  grooved,  bevelled,  painted 
and  sanded  to  present  the  appearance  of  cut 
stone. 

Another  marked  peculiarity  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Georgian  work,  a  peculiarity  perhaps  in- 
vited and  intensified  by  this  almost  universal 
predilection  for  a  wood  casing,  at  least  so  far 
as  domestic  structures  were  concerned,  is  the 
comparative  plainness  and  absence  of  archi- 
tectural embellishment  from  a  great  many 
exteriors  in  strong  contrast  with  the  wealth 
of  elaborate  carved  and  moulded  detail  to  be 
found  within.  In  a  way,  they  seem  to  have 
assimilated  or,  perhaps,  it  would  be  truer  and 


104  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

more  accurate  to  say  that  they  reflect  the  out- 
ward reserve  and  restraint  of  New  England 
character,  a  reserve,  however,  that  often  melts 
into  cordial  geniality  under  the  favouring  aus- 
pices of  a  closer  acquaintance.  Indeed,  judg- 
ing from  the  exterior  of  many  a  house,  one  is 
wholly  unprepared  to  find  the  exquisite  and 
rich  panelled  and  carved  adornments  that  con- 
front the  visitor,  once  the  threshold  is  passed. 
This  shearing  off  or  repression  of  outward 
architectural  graces  makes  it  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult sometimes  to  tell  at  first  glance  whether  a 
house  belongs  in  the  Georgian  category  or  not, 
especially  when  there  is  nothing  peculiarly 
distinctive  about  the  contour  of  the  mass  to 
serve  as  an  indication.  In  this  connexion,  too, 
it  must  be  explicitly  stated  that  not  a  few  of 
these  square,  roomy  old  clapboarded  houses,  of 
a  general  farmhouse  type  gradually  evolved 
from  the  earlier  and  truly  Colonial  mode,  dis- 
cussed in  a  previous  chapter,  assumed  occa- 
sional Georgian  features  in  the  way  of  a  door 
or  the  setting  of  a  window  whose  promise  was 
not  borne  out  by  any  further  evidence  of  archi- 
tectural pretension  either  inside  or  out. 

In  studying  architectural  history  and  examin- 
ing the  architectural  characteristics  of  a  cer- 
tain given  territory,  the  mind  is  constantly 
impelled  to  seek  analogies  and  points  of  resem- 
blance and  relationship  with  the  contemporary 


MACPHAEDRIS-WARNER    HOUSE,     PORTSMOUTH,    X.  II. 

1723 
New    England    Georgian,    first    phase 


1 

?^   jSri 

'^S^^VmH^l 

Bp                p'  ■ 

Ifi 

rUff 

J  11 

jjri^ 

[Oil 

LI  II 

DUMMER    MANSION,    BYFIELD,    MASS.      C.     1715. 
New   England    Georgian   in    first   phase. 


THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND    105 

architectural  phenomena  observable  in  other 
places.  By  systematically  scrutinising  and  com- 
paring the  Georgian  work  throughout  the  Colo- 
nies, always  keeping  the  historical  background 
in  view,  one  cannot  escape  the  conviction  that 
there  were  three  phases  of  Georgian  manifesta- 
tion and,  furthermore,  that  whatever  minor 
local  differences  may  have  arisen,  there  was  a 
fairly  close  chronological  correspondence  be- 
tween them  and  the  several  phases  that  marked 
the  evolution  in  England.  Speaking  approxi- 
mately, we  may  say  that  the  first  phase  in- 
cluded the  houses  erected  prior  to  1740  or  1745 ; 
the  second  phase  endured  from  1745  till  about 
1775  or  1780,  while  the  third  phase,  profoundly 
influenced  by  Adam  inspiration,  lasted  until 
the  Greek  or  Classic  Revival  completely  held 
the  field.  In  this  last  phase,  be  it  remembered, 
must  be  reckoned  some  of  the  best  work  per- 
formed by  Charles  Bulfinch  and  Samuel  Mcln- 
tire,  work  that  really  marked  the  transition 
stage  between  the  Georgian  style  and  the  re- 
juvenated and  direct  importation  of  classicism 
that  dominated  public  taste  in  the  first  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  order  to  make 
this  threefold  division  quite  clear  and  trace 
the  process  of  evolution  through  its  successive 
stages,  it  will  be  necessary  to  refer  to  specific 
features  found  in  well  known  examples  typical 
of  each  phase. 


106   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

While  the  earliest  Georgian  type  in  Pennsyl- 
vania showed  a  tendency  toward  extreme  sim- 
plicity and,  at  the  same  time,  some  heaviness, 
the  first  phase  of  New  England  Georgian  often 
displayed  a  close  resemblance  to  the  heavy  but 
ornate  treatment  of  Queen  Anne's  day.  The 
heaviness  and  boldness  of  detail  belonged  to  and 
were  characteristic  of  the  epoch  and  were  to 
be  expected  in  any  event.  The  restraint  and 
simplicity  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  cases  of  Sten- 
ton  and  Hope  Lodge,  were  probably  to  be  attrib- 
uted somewhat  to  Quaker  predilection  on  the 
part  of  the  owners.  In  the  case  of  Graeme  Park, 
built  for  Sir  William  Keith,  the  lack  of  more 
elaborate  detail  may  have  been  due  to  the  limi- 
tations of  the  workmen's  skill.  For  the  sake 
of  concrete  example,  we  may  point  to  the 
severely  plain,  rectangular  doorways  with 
straight  transoms  of  small  lights  at  Stenton, 
Graeme  Park  and  Hope  Lodge,  all  of  them  thor- 
oughly representative  of  the  Pennsylvania  phase 
of  Georgian  at  this  date.  In  New  England,  by 
way  of  sharp  contrast,  we  find  segmental  pedi- 
ments over  doorways  and  a  wealth  of  elaborate 
adornment  in  the  shape  of  pilasters,  intricately 
carved  capitals  and  nicely  hand  wrought  mould- 
ings to  dignify  them,  all  designed  and  executed 
in  a  manner  strongly  reminiscent  of  what  one 
may  see  in  Queen  Anne's  Gate  or  Grosvenor 
Road  in  Westminster.     The  heaviness  of  pro- 


THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND    107 

portion  and  boldness  of  line  belonged  to  the 
period,  as  just  noted,  and  were  common  to  both 
the  New  England  and  Pennsylvania  forms  of 
expression.  In  New  England,  however,  there 
were  no  Quaker  scruples  and  preferences  to 
impose  a  restraining  influence  and,  in  conse- 
quence, traces  of  Queen  Anne  elaboration  lin- 
gered till  about  1740.  Our  first  Georgian  type 
in  both  New  England  and  Pennsylvania  shows 
the  straight  transom  of  small  square  lights. 

Excellent  examples  of  the  elaboration  with 
Queen  Anne  affinities  to  be  found  in  the  first 
Georgian  type  in  New  England,  may  be  seen 
in  the  door  of  the  Dummer  house  at  Byfield, 
Massachusetts,  built  in  1715 ;  the  door  of  the 
Macphaedris- Warner  house  in  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  finished  in  1723 ;  the  door  of  the 
Royall  house  at  Medford,  Massachusetts,  fin- 
ished in  its  present  form  in  1737 ;  the  door  of  a 
house  in  Hatfield,  Massachusetts,  built  about 
1735  or  1740 ;  the  door  of  a  house  in  Hadley, 
Massachusetts,  dating  from  1714  and,  last  of 
all,  the  door  of  the  "Parson  Williams"  house  at 
Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  built  in  1707.  This 
last,  of  course,  is  altogether  within  the  Queen 
Anne  period  and  is  thoroughly  characteristic  of 
the  date  but  it  is  desirable  to  refer  to  it  here  for 
purposes  of  comparison  to  show  certain  points 
of  similarity  between  it  and  the  others  enumer- 
ated  before   it.     In   every   instance   save   one 


108   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

there  is  some  elaborate  form  of  pediment,  seg- 
mental or  swan's  neck.  The  mouldings  are 
heavy  and  bold  and  the  torus  or  cushion  mould 
frequently  occurs  as  a  frieze.  There  are  flank- 
ing pilasters  with  intricate  capitals  and  some- 
times imposts  bearing  up  the  entablature  or 
else  there  are  vigorously  carved  panels  in  place 
of  the  pilasters  and,  above  them,  richly  wrought 
acanthus  modillion  brackets  supporting  the 
entablature. 

In  nearly  all  of  this  early  work  we  find  large, 
bevel  flush  panels  and  the  cornice  mouldings 
in  panelled  rooms  are  strongly  defined  and 
robust  in  contour.  The  overmantel  panelling 
is  made  an  important  feature  but  the  mantel 
shelf  itself  is  usually  insignificant  and,  at  times, 
hardly  more  than  rudimentary.  In  several  of 
the  houses  just  referred  to,  especially  the 
Dummer  house  and  the  Macphaedris-Warner 
house,  we  find  windows  topped  with  a  flattened 
arch  or  segmental  lintel  instead  of  having  a 
straight  top  and  in  some  cases  there  is  a  slightly 
countersunk  tympanum  between  the  bottom  of 
this  flat  arch  and  the  top  of  the  wooden  window 
casing.  In  the  Warner  house,  several  of  the 
windows  are  tall  and  narrow  in  proportion  to 
their  height,  the  sashes  being  only  two  panes 
wide.  Both  these  window  forms  are  typically 
early  and  disappear  entirely  at  a  later  date. 

In  the  interiors  of  some  of  these  houses  are 


DOORWAY,     lH'MMER     HOISK 


<  -c 


0  X 


THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND    109 

to  be  found  round-headed  arched  doorways  with 
double  doors  and  the  arch,  either  round  or 
flattened,  appears  in  various  forms  from  time 
to  time  while  the  fluted  or  carved  or  turned  key 
block,  in  sundry  curious  varieties,  appears  at 
the  centre  of  arches  and  also  in  other  places. 
The  key  block  practically  disappears  in  the 
second  phase  of  Georgian.  The  arch  also  loses 
its  prominence  and  we  find  more  straight  lines. 
Indeed,  during  the  second  or  more  distinctly 
Palladian  phase  of  Georgian  we  scarcely  find 
the  arch  at  all  in  domestic  architecture  except 
in  the  middle  member  of  the  Palladian  window 
or  in  the  lights  over  house  doors.  One  might 
go  on  almost  indefinitely  tabulating  character- 
istic details  that  belong  essentially  to  the  first 
Georgian  phase  but  enough  has  been  said  to 
direct  attention  to  the  general  aspect  and  to 
enable  an  observant  person  to  differentiate  it 
from  the  others. 

Of  the  second  Georgian  phase  in  New  Eng- 
land we  could  not  desire  a  better  or  more  thor- 
oughly typical  example  than  the  Lee  house  in 
Marblehead,  erected  in  1768.  It  is  the  em- 
bodiment of  robust  and  yet  agreeably  propor- 
tioned classicality.  The  mouldings  and  cornices 
have  lost  the  ponderosity  of  proportion  that 
was  observable  in  many  of  the  houses  of  earlier 
type.  The  placing  of  ornamental  detail  is  far 
more  carefully  considered  and  governed  with 


110  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

a  reasonable  restraint.  Interesting  as  some  of 
the  earlier  examples  of  door  treatment  were  for 
their  very  exuberance  of  fancy  and  their  vigour, 
they  were,  nevertheless,  a  trifle  awkward  when 
compared  with  a  well  designed  and  better  bal- 
anced doorway  of  a  subsequent  date.  When 
acanthus  leaves,  rosettes  or  other  decorative 
motifs  are  introduced,  it  is  in  a  thoroughly  well 
mannered  way  that  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired 
regarding  proportion  or  propriety  of  placing. 
The  spiral  baluster  spindles  on  the  staircase 
of  the  Lee  house  are  exceptionally  fine  and 
worthily  represent  the  style  of  baluster  turn- 
ing and  carving  that  belongs  especially  to  this 
middle  period. 

In  the  banquet  hall  the  overmantel  presents 
an  unusually  fine  specimen  of  the  wood-carver's 
art.  The  great  panel,  with  dog-ear  corners  and 
Flemish  scroll  supports,  is  flanked  by  two  pend- 
ants of  fruit,  flowers  and  leaves  carved  with  all 
the  delicacy  and  intricate  finish  of  the  school 
of  Grinling  Gibbon.  It  is  more  elaborate,  of 
course,  than  most  of  the  interior  carving  found 
in  the  second  Georgian  phase  but  it  is  typical 
in  that  it  is  better  disciplined  than  the  earlier 
efforts  in  the  same  direction  which  were  often 
inclined  to  be  crude.  The  interior  cornices  are 
more  refined  in  detail  and  not  so  bold  in  contour 
as  formerly.  The  egg  and  dart  motif  becomes 
common  and1  other  ornamental  details  are  used 


THE  GEORGIAN  MODE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND    111 

in  an  understanding  way  and  in  their  conven- 
tional forms,  whereas  at  an  earlier  period  they 
were  not  always  historically  correct,  though 
often  ingenious,  nor  were  they  invariably  well 
placed. 

The  last  phase  of  New  England  Georgian 
architecture  was  distinctly  a  period  of  Adam 
inspiration  as  it  was  in  other  parts  of  the  country, 
with  this  difference,  however.  Elsewhere  the 
third  Georgian  phase  was  forsaken  all  too  soon 
for  the  newer  glamour  of  the  Classic  Revival 
for  which,  in  a  manner,  it  prepared  the  way. 
In  New  England,  under  the  influence  of  such 
men  as  Charles  Bulfinch  and  Samuel  Mcln- 
tire,  the  delicate  proportions  and  fascinatingly 
refined  details  brought  into  English  architec- 
ture by  the  Brothers  Adam  remained  in  favour 
until  well  into  the  nineteenth  century  and 
exercised  a  beneficial  effect  that  has  not  yet 
lost  its  force.  With  excellent  taste  both  Bul- 
finch and  Mclntire  employed  the  Adam  heritage 
of  urns,  pendent  husks,  anthemia,  ovals,  span- 
dril  fans  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Pompeian  re- 
finements, and  Mclntire  unhesitatingly  length- 
ened out  the  proportions  of  pillars  and  pilasters 
until  he  had  removed  all  suggestion  of  gross- 
ness  from  his  design  and  imparted  a  slender  grace 
to  all  his  work.  Though  he  made  various  in- 
novations, Mclntire  really  prolonged  the  Adam 
period   in   New   England   and   saved   domestic 


112  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF^  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

architecture,  wherever  his  influence  was  strong 
enough,  from  the  deplorable  banality  into  which 
the  more  unconsidered  forms  of  the  Classic 
Revival  degenerated. 

In  the  felicity  of  its  local  adaptations,  in  the 
dignity  it  imparted  to  the  visible  side  of  public 
life,  in  its  virile  development  manifested  in  the 
churches  and  other  public  buildings,  the  Geor- 
gian architecture  of  New  England  has  given  us 
numerous  patterns  worthy  of  emulation  in 
toto  or  in  part  and  has  left  an  indelible  and 
beneficial  impress  upon  the  nation's  artistic 
consciousness. 


CHAPTER  VII 

GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  IN  NEW  YORK 

STRANGE  as  it  may  seem,  the  territory 
comprised  in  the  present  state  of  New 
York  is  not  nearly  so  rich  in  Georgian 
remains  as  are  the  other  parts  of  our  country 
contained  within  the  boundaries  of  the  original 
Colonies.  At  first  it  may  astonish  the  student 
of  architectural  history  to  find  one  of  the  oldest, 
wealthiest  and  most  important  communities, 
rich  not  only  in  material  resources  but  in  his- 
tory, so  devoid  of  the  Georgian  landmarks  that 
characterise  the  adjacent  sections  of  the  coun- 
try. New  England  is  filled  with  well  preserved 
memorials  of  the  eighteenth  century.  So  like- 
wise are  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware 
and  the  South.  How  is  it,  then,  that  New 
York  is,  by  comparison,  so  deficient  in  this 
respect  ? 

Several  reasons  may  be  assigned  in  answer  to 
this  question.  In  the  first  place,  the  representa- 
tive Georgian  houses  in  all  parts  of  the  Colonies 
were  the  homes  of  that  part  of  the  population 

113 


114   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

that  enjoyed  affluent  circumstances ;  they  were 
not  the  homes  of  the  plainer  folk  nor  of  those  in 
humble  circumstances.  The  majority  of  well- 
to-do  citizens  were  to  be  found  in  New  York 
City  and  there,  naturally,  were  most  of  the 
Georgian  houses.  Even  those  that  counted 
themselves  as  residents  of  other  parts  of  the 
Province,  as  a  rule,  had  their  town  houses 
there.  What  befel  the  Georgian  country  houses 
we  shall  shortly  learn. 

Unfortunately  for  the  student  of  our  architec- 
tural history,  the  relentless  tide  of  mercantile 
progress  in  New  York  City  has  ruthlessly 
swept  aside  nearly  all  the  landmarks  of  former 
generations  and  replaced  them  with  high  office 
buildings,  factories,  flats  or  warehouses.  Only 
in  the  fabric  of  a  few  of  the  older  churches  or 
in  some  of  the  backwaters  left  by  the  eddying 
currents  of  urban  life  have  a  few  scattered  rem- 
nants of  the  city  of  the  eighteenth  century  been 
preserved  for  us  and  even  these  are  rapidly 
disappearing. 

In  the  second  place,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
Georgian  country  houses,  outside  the  territory 
now  covered  by  the  spread  of  New  York  City, 
have  suffered  so  sadly  at  the  hands  of  nineteenth 
century  "improvers",  whose  unintelligent  alter- 
ations and  additions  have  wrought  architectural 
havoc,  that  oftentimes  nearly  all  traces  of 
Georgian  characteristics  have  either  been  seri- 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  IN  NEW  YORK     115 

ously  marred  or  altogether  destroyed.  Instead 
of  stately  Georgian  dwellings  of  august  mien 
and  compelling  interest,  as  they  once  were, 
they  have  become  mere  commonplace  and  often 
repulsive  agglomerations  of  masonry  like  other 
structures  erected  during  the  uninspired  Vic- 
torian era.  This  is  their  plight  outwardly  and 
within  they  have  often  been  subjected  to  indig- 
nities quite  as  revolting.  Such  systematic  and 
calculating  vandalism  on  the  part  of  former 
owners  cannot  be  too  severely  condemned  but 
condemnation  will  not  undo  the  mischief,  and 
only  the  most  conscientious  process  of  restoration 
can  in  some  measure  remedy  the  misdeeds  of 
the  "enlightened"  nineteenth  century  spoiler. 
Another  important  reason  for  the  paucity 
of  Georgian  domestic  structures  within  the 
territory  of  New  York  is  that,  in  the  Hudson 
region  and  in  the  valleys  abutting  upon  it,  the 
majority  of  houses  built  during  the  eighteenth 
century,  houses  belonging  to  those  in  moderate 
and  comfortable  circumstances  and  also  some 
belonging  to  people  of  great  wealth  and  social 
prominence,  remained  Dutch  in  type  and  in 
their  later  architecture  borrowed  freely  from 
Georgian  and  Classic  Revival  sources  and 
adapted  such  details  as  they  saw  fit  to  new  uses 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  success.  The 
Dutch  colonial  tradition  was  exceptionally  strong, 
virile  and  intensely  characteristic  and  persisted 


116   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

in  spite  of  the  introduction  of  the  Georgian 
mode.  Curiously  enough,  notwithstanding  the 
potent  individuality  of  the  Dutch  style,  none  of 
its  significant  peculiarities  seems  to  have  been 
grafted  upon  the  Georgian  stock  in  like  manner 
with  the  blending  processes  and  modifications 
that  took  place  in  New  England  or  in  the  South. 

Finally,  a  great  many  houses  built  about  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  or  at  the 
very  end  of  the  eighteenth  in  the  western  part 
of  New  York  showed  a  strong  Classic  Revival 
influence  rather  than  any  essentially  Georgian 
affinities. 

Several  of  the  finest  examples  of  eighteenth 
century  work,  which  for  lack  of  further  special 
subdivision  of  our  subject  must  be  included  in 
the  Georgian  period,  belong  to  the  Queen  Anne 
category  under  the  strictest  classification.  These 
are  Fraunce's  Tavern  and  the  Philipse  House 
in  Yonkers.  The  former  was  erected  during 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  and  was  originally  the 
home  of  the  Van  Cortlandts  and  DeLanceys. 
It  was  not  until  the  middle  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  that  it  became  a  hostelry.  So 
many  important  events  have  been  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  venerable  building,  among  them 
Washington's  affecting  leave-taking  of  his  offi- 
cers and  troops,  that  it  was  both  the  privilege 
and  duty  of  patriotism  and  a  proper  national 
pride  to  rescue  the  fabric  from  neglect  and  the 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  IN  NEW  YORK     117 

base  uses  to  which  it  had  fallen  and  restore  it, 
so  far  as  possible,  to  its  former  appearance  and 
condition  after  all  the  vicissitudes  which  several 
generations  of  nineteenth  century  neglect  and 
lack  of  appreciation  had  imposed  upon  it. 
In  its  general  proportions,  in  the  lines  of  its 
hipped  roof  and  in  many  interior  details,  such 
as  the  panelling,  it  is  distinctly  reminiscent  of 
some  of  the  best  English  work  of  Queen  Anne's 
day  although  in  several  respects  may  also  be 
traced  the  architectural  influences  of  a  later 
era.  The  other  building,  even  earlier  in  date 
than  Fraunce's  Tavern,  has  not  suffered  from 
the  same  damaging  chances  of  fortune  and 
debasement  and  far  fewer  of  its  details  are 
conjectural.  One  might  say  that  the  carcase 
and  contour  of  the  Philipse  Manor  House  are 
of  Queen  Anne  character  but  that  beyond  that 
it  is  conglomerate  since  it  embodies  so  many 
peculiarities  and  additions  of  later  times  that 
it  can  scarcely  be  considered  truly  typical  of  any 
one  epoch.  While  much  of  the  fabric  is  in  its 
original  condition,  as  erected  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  addition  of 
Georgian  details  and  adornments  made  by  the 
lords  of  the  manor  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury may  readily  be  traced,  and  while  they  are 
all  interesting  and  admirable  and  not  in  any 
sense  to  be  regarded  as  pieces  of  vandalism, 
they  prevent  the  structure  from  presenting  an 


118   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

appearance  in  strict  chronological  keeping  with 
the  date  of  its  erection. 

The  Schuyler  and  Van  Rensselaer  houses  have 
also  undergone  some  unfortunate  modifications 
from  time  to  time  which  have  impaired  their 
typal  value  to  the  architectural  student  so 
that  we  are  forced  to  content  ourselves,  when 
considering  the  Georgian  houses  of  New  York 
that  are  stjll  really  characteristic,  with  the  Van 
Cortlandt  house  in  Van  Cortlandt  Park  and 
the  Jumel  Mansion.  These  are,  both  of  them, 
interesting  and  worthy  specimens  belonging  to 
the  middle  Georgian  phase  or  the  phase  that 
corresponds  chronologically  with  the  middle 
Georgian  phase  elsewhere,  but  even  here  the 
hand  of  the  "restorer"  has  recently  taken  some 
liberties  which  one  cannot  help  feeling  were 
unnecessary.  The  Van  Cortlandt  house  —  it  is 
not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Van  Cortlandt 
Manor  House  which  is  of  much  earlier  date  and 
is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Croton  River 
many  miles  distant  —  was  erected  slightly  be- 
fore the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
is  an  admirable  specimen  of  the  Georgian  feeling 
of  that  particular  day.  One  of  the  most  strik- 
ing features  of  exterior  detail  is  to  be  found  in 
the  procession  of  grotesque  heads  or  masques 
carved  in  high  relief  on  the  keystones  of  the 
lintels  above  the  windows.  They  are  typical  of 
the  decorative  trend  of  the  epoch,  and  although 


WINDOW     DETAIL,     VAN     (<  (RTLANDT    HOUSE. 


PHILIPSE     HOUSE,     NEAR    TARRYTOWN,     X.    V. 


Copyright,  .1.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
WAYNESBOROCGH,     PAOLI,     PA.      1724. 

Transition    from    Colonial    to    First    Georgian    phase. 


Copyright,  .1.  B.  I.ippincott  Co 

GRAEME    PARK,     HORSHAM,     PA.      1721. 
Middle    Colonies    Georgian,    first    phase. 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  IN  NEW  YORK     119 

their  employment  is  not  common  in  American 
Georgian  architecture,  other  examples  are  to 
be  found  on  the  tower  of  the  State  House  in 
Philadelphia,  the  tower  of  Christ  Church,  in 
the  same  city,  and  in  the  trims  of  some  of  the 
small  circular  windows  in  the  gable  ends  of  the 
Old  State  House  in  Boston.  The  panelling 
and  interior  adornments  of  the  Van  Cortlandt 
house  display  the  disciplined  proportion  and 
judicious  placing  usually  observable  in  other 
representative  houses  of  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  before  the  delicacy  and 
decorative  profusion  of  Adam  influence  had 
replaced  the  simpler  and  more  robust  concep- 
tions of  the  school  of  Gibbs  and  his  contempo- 
raries. The  Jumel  Mansion  with  its  hipped 
roof  terminating  in  a  balustraded  deck,  its 
substantial  foursquare  dimensions,  its  heavy 
quoins  and  its  well  proportioned  columns  is  also 
eminently  characteristic  of  the  same  school  of 
architectural  design. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PENNSYLVANIA,    NEW    JERSEY    AND    DELAWARE 
GEORGIAN 

1720-1805 

THE  Georgian  houses  of  Pennsylvania, 
West  and  South  Jersey  and  Delaware 
hold  the  attention  of  the  observer  and 
stimulate  his  imagination  with  compelling  force 
as  do  few  other  architectural  remains  in  the 
territories  embraced  within  the  boundaries  of 
the  original  Colonies.  Architect  and  painter, 
antiquarian  and  historian,  poet  and  fictionary, 
the  student  and  the  dilettante  dabbler  —  all 
alike  come  under  the  potent  spell  of  these  stately 
old  dwellings  and  all  alike  find  something  therein 
to  absorb  their  interest.  When  the  Georgian  pe- 
riod began  —  we  may  set  its  beginning  approx- 
imately for  all  the  Colonies  about  1720  —  the 
affairs  of  the  provincial  governments  had  long 
since  passed  the  experimental  stage.  In  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Jerseys  and  Delaware,  a  consistent 
policy  of  peace  with  neighbours  and  careful 
domestic  thrift,  along  with  the  fertility  of  the 

120 


Copyright)  J-  U-  Lippincott  Co. 
GRAEME    PARK,    SOUTH    FRONT. 


Copyright,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 

HOPE    LODGE,    WHITEMARSH    VALLEY.      1723. 
Middle   Colonies  Georgian,   first   phase. 


Copyright,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
GREAT     PARLOUR,     GRAEME    PARK. 


Copyright,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
HALLWAY,     HOPE    LODGE. 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  121 

soil  and  the  habitual  industry  of  the  people, 
had  accumulated  a  substantial  volume  of  public 
and  private  wealth.  Ripe  conditions  readily 
begot  the  temptation  to  build  more  ambitiously 
and  means  were  not  lacking  to  gratify  the  incli- 
nation to  spend.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
Georgian  period  onward,  houses  were  planned 
and  built  with  an  air  of  amplitude  and  assured 
permanence  that  bespoke  a  comfortable  con- 
sciousness of  firmly  established  and  easy  afflu- 
ence which  justified  the  builders  in  planning 
broadly  both  for  their  own  day  and  for  future 
generations.  Town  houses  and  country  houses 
equally  indicated  the  wealth  and  estate  of  their 
owners  and  reflected  the  lavish  and  elegant  mode 
of  life  more  truly  than  any  of  the  other  tangible 
memorials  still  remaining  from  those  days. 

From  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
Philadelphia  was  the  largest  and  most  important 
city  in  the  American  Colonies  and  one  naturally 
expects,  therefore,  to  find  country  houses  more 
representative  and  more  numerous  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood than  elsewhere.  For  that  reason  the 
Georgian  houses  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia 
will  furnish  the  examples  used  in  the  latter 
part  of  this  chapter  to  illustrate  the  variations 
of  type  characteristic  of  Pennsylvania,  Dela- 
ware and  the  Jerseys,  in  other  words,  the  section 
of  the  country  for  which  Philadelphia  was  the 
natural  centre  of  influence. 


122   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

To  some  it  may,  perhaps,  seem  strange  that 
houses  which  oftentimes  exhibit  so  much  archi- 
tectural elegance  and  elaboration  of  detail 
should  have  been  built  in  a  community  sup- 
posedly dominated  by  the  principle  of  outward 
simplicity  professed  by  the  Society  of  Friends. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  Quaker  influ- 
ence, though  always  a  powerful  factor  in  every 
aspect  of  Philadelphia  life,  was  offset  and  often- 
times strongly  opposed  by  the  vigorous  social 
and  political  activity  of  the  "World's  People", 
that  is  to  say,  the  members  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic, Presbyterian,  Dutch  Reformed,  Lutheran 
and  Baptist  Churches,  many  of  whom  were  the 
acknowledged  leaders  of  society  and  managed 
to  impart  no  small  degree  of  dash  and  gaiety 
to  the  life  of  their  day  and  generation.  It  should 
also  be  remembered  that  the  Friends  were  by 
no  means  uniform  in  their  interpretation  and 
practice  of  the  social  discipline  of  their  organi- 
sation. While  some  of  the  plain  Friends  were 
exceedingly  strait  in  their  behaviour  and  dress 
and  eschewed  all  manner  of  frivolity,  there  were 
many  who  found  it  quite  compatible  with  their 
consciences  to  attend  brilliant  social  functions, 
attired  in  sumptuous  and  brave  coloured  clothes, 
dance,  go  to  punch  drinkings  and  join  heartily 
in  the  frequent  fox  hunts  for  which  the  country 
about  Philadelphia  has  always  been  famous. 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  123 

In  one  particular  both  Friends  and  "World's 
People"  were  precisely  alike.  They  all  dearly 
loved  good  eating  and  were  noted  for  open- 
handed  hospitality  and  frequent  entertaining. 
At  a  later  date,  when  John  Adams  first  came  to 
Philadelphia,  he  notes  in  his  diary  with  con- 
stant and  unabated  surprise  the  "sinful  feasts" 
in  which  Philadelphians  habitually  indulged. 
Indeed,  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  old 
diaries  is  enough  to  convince  one  that  the  men, 
women  and  children,  too,  of  eighteenth  century 
Philadelphia  often  "gormandised  to  the  verge 
of  gluttony."  The  following  entry  in  the  diary 
of  Ann  Warder  is  so  characteristic  of  what  often 
took  place  that  it  is  worth  quoting  at  some 
length.     She  says  :  — 

"This  morning  most  of  the  family  were  busy  preparing 
for  a  great  dinner,  two  green  turtles  having  been  sent  to 
Johnnie  —  We  concluded  to  dress  them  both  together  here 
and  invited  the  whole  family  in.  We  had  three  tureens 
of  soup,  the  two  shells  baked,  besides  several  dishes  of 
stew,  with  boned  turkey,  roast  ducks,  veal  and  beef. 
After  these  were  removed  the  table  was  filled  with  two 
kinds  of  jellies  and  various  kinds  of  pudding,  pies,  and 
preserves;  and  then  almonds,  raisins,  nuts,  apples  and 
oranges.  Twenty -four  sat  down  at  the  table."  The 
next  entry  states  that  "My  husband  passed  a  restless 
night  with  gout." 

John  Adams,  recording  his  admiration  for  the 
town  house  and  furniture  of  Judge  Chew  of 


124  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

Cliveden,  says  of  a  dinner  given  by  that  gentle- 
man :  — 

"22  Thursday.  Dined  with  Mr.  Chew,  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Province,  with  all  the  gentlemen  from  Virginia, 
Dr.  Shippen,  Mr.  Tilghman,  and  many  others.  We  were 
shown  into  a  grand  entry  and  staircase  and  into  an  ele- 
gant and  magnificent  chamber  until  dinner.  About 
4  O'clock  we  were  called  down  to  dinner.  The  furniture 
was  all  rich.  Turtle  and  every  other  thing,  flummery, 
jellies,  sweetmeats,  of  20  sorts,  trifles,  whipped  sillabubs, 
floating  islands,  fools,  etc.,  &  then  a  dessert  of  fruits, 
raisens,  almonds,  pears,  peaches,  wines  most  excellent  & 
admirable.  I  drank  Madeira  at  a  great  rate  &  found  no 
inconvenience  in  it." 

Servants  in  considerable  numbers  were  neces- 
sarily maintained  in  the  larger  establishments 
and  were  made  up  of  slaves,  indentured  bonds- 
men or  redemptioners,  and  free  servitors  who 
were  paid  what  we  should  now  consider  ridicu- 
lously small  wages  for  their  services. 

Balls  and  routs  were  by  no  means  infrequent 
and  some  of  the  larger  houses  boasted  sumptu- 
ously appointed  ball  rooms  that  would  do  credit 
to  many  a  large  house  of  present  day  design. 
As  one  example  of  these  we  may  note  the  ball 
room  of  the  Powel  house  in  Third  Street  which 
occupied  the  whole  front  of  the  second  floor. 
"In  this  state  apartment,  the  overmantel  was 
an  exquisite  piece  of  the  wood  carver's  art  and 
represented  a  hunting  scene  above  which  were 
wrought  armorial  bearings  in  high  relief.     Deli- 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  125 

cately  finished  carving  was  also  to  be  found  in 
other  parts  of  the  house.  .  .  .  The  doors  of 
the  rooms  are  of  solid  mahogany  while  a  rich 
mahogany  wainscotting  runs  all  the  way  up 
the  staircase.  .  .  ,  The  front  of  the  house  is 
of  unusual  breadth  and,  as  might  be  expected, 
the  rooms  are  of  dimensions  far  beyond  the 
ordinary." 

The  courtly  mode  of  life  of  'the  "World's 
People"  was  reflected  even  in  their  church 
going  array.  One  diarist  of  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  a  stranger  who  had  travelled 
extensively  in  the  Colonies  and  was  therefore 
competent  to  judge,  writes  after  attending 
Christ  Church  on  a  Sunday  morning,  that  he 
saw  there  a  larger  number  of  well  dressed  peo- 
ple than  he  had  ever  seen  together  before.  He 
continues:  —  "The  Episcopalians  showed  most 
grandeur  of  dress  and  costumes  —  next  the 
Presbyterians  —  the  gentlemen  of  whom  freely 
indulged  in  powdered  and  frizzled  hair." 
"While  Philadelphia  was  the  seat  of  the  Repub- 
lican Court,  the  grandeur  of  Christ  Church 
congregation  was  increased.  The  arrival  of 
the  worshippers  in  damasks  and  brocades,  velvet 
breeches  and  silk  stockings,  powdered  hair  and 
periwigs,  was  a  sight  to  see.  Some  came  afoot, 
others  drove  in  chairs  or  clattered  up  in  cum- 
brous, awesome  coaches,  with  two  or  four 
horses,  while  Washington's  equipage,  drawn  by 


126  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

six  cream  coloured  steeds,  added  the  final 
touch  to  the  imposing  spectacle."  All  this 
cavalcade  seemed  but  an  echo  of  the  earlier 
days  when  Sir  William  Keith,  of  Graeme  Park, 
Horsham,  one  of  the  early  governours  of  the 
Province,  was  wont  to  drive  to  the  churchyard 
gates  with  his  coach  and  four,  with  outriders 
in  truly  regal  fashion,  liveried  footmen  on  the 
post  board  and  his  arms  blazoned  on  the  panels 
of  the  doors.  Nor  was  Sir  William  alone  in 
this  gorgeous  display,  for  there  were  others 
who  came  with  similar  equipage  and  even  today 
more  than  one  of  these  lumbering  old  coaches, 
with  arm-blazoned  doors,  may  be  found  moul- 
dering away  in  the  coach  houses  of  old  country 
places. 

An  inventory  of  Sir  William  Keith's  effects 
and  chattels  from  his  plantation  of  Horsham 
will  give  some  notion  of  the  luxury  that  pre- 
vailed there :  — 

"...  a  silver  punch  bowl,  ladle  and  strainer  4  salvers, 
3  casters,  and  33  spoons,  70  large  pewter  plates,  14  smaller 
plates,  6  basins,  6  brass  pots  with  covers ;  chinaware ;  13 
different  sizes  of  bowls,  6  complete  tea  sets,  2  dozen  choco- 
late cups,  20  dishes  of  various  sizes,  4  dozen  plates,  6 
mugs,  1  dozen  fine  coffee  cups  .  .  .  delft  stone  and  glass 
ware  :  18  jars,  12  venison  pots,  6  white  stone  tea  sets, 
12  mugs,  6  dozen  plates  and  12  fine  wine  decanters  .  .  . 
24  Holland  sheets,  20  common  sheets,  50  tablecloths,  12 
dozen  napkins,  60  bedsteads,  144  chairs,  32  tables,  3  clocks, 
15  looking  glasses,  10  dozen  knives  and  forks  —  ...  4 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  127 

coach  horses,  7  saddle  horses,  6  working  horses,  2  mares 
one  colt ;  4  oxen,  15  cows,  4  bulls,  6  calves,  31  sheep  and 
20  hogs.  A  large  glass  coach,  2  chaises,  2  waggons,  1 
wain." 

Besides  all  these  items  there  was  a  great  quantity 
of  household  gear  that  would  take  too  much 
space  to  catalogue.  Other  inventories  of  the 
time  were  comparable  to  the  one  just  given. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  people  who  were  able  to 
live  in  the  manner  indicated  by  such  lists  of 
personal  effects  wished  to  have  houses  in  keep- 
ing with  their  means  and  looked  with  favour 
upon  architectural  designs  of  elegant  propor- 
tions and  details.  Unlike  many  of  the  fine 
Georgian  houses  of  New  England,  which  ex- 
hibited a  comparatively  plain  and  simple  ex- 
terior, the  houses  of  the  same  date  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  Middle  Colonies  displayed  a 
degree  of  outside  elaboration  to  correspond 
with  the  interior  embellishments. 

The  materials  used  were  ordinarily  either 
brick  or  stone,  the  latter  in  many  cases  being 
carefully  cut  and  dressed,  sometimes  for  the 
front  only,  sometimes  for  the  walls  all  the  way 
round.  This  was  quite  in  accord  with  the 
tradition  of  the  locality  to  which  allusion  has 
been  previously  made.  While  much  of  the 
fine  woodwork  was  executed  on  the  spot,  a  good 
deal  of  it  was  fetched  from  England  by  wealthy 
merchants  for  their  own  use  in  their  ships  trad- 


128  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ing  between  Philadelphia  and  English  ports. 
The  gardens  were  usually  designed  in  a  manner 
to  comport  with  the  houses  they  surrounded 
and  it  is  no  unusual  thing  even  now  to  find  well 
kept  box  borders  and  hedges  that  have  been 
the  pride  of  their  owners  for  generations. 

Having  noted  the  conditions  that  made  the 
Georgian  style  of  architecture  particularly  ac- 
ceptable to  people  of  substance  in  the  eighteenth 
century  it  now  remains  to  examine  in  detail 
the  features  constituting  its  distinctive  local 
character.  The  examples  of  Georgian  domestic 
architecture  to  be  found  in  and  about  Phila- 
delphia offer  an  unsurpassed  field  for  examina- 
tion and  comparison,  and  a  study  of  their 
peculiarities  shows  an  interesting  evolution 
through  three  distinct  forms,  all  of  which,  never- 
theless, belong  to  the  same  generic  classifica- 
tion. "Georgian,"  of  course,  in  the  narrowest 
sense  of  the  word  would  indicate  the  mode  in 
vogue  only  during  the  reigns  of  the  Georges,  but 
Georgian  architecture  is  not  to  be  limited  by 
any  such  cramped  or  arbitrary  bounds.  It  was 
the  style  evolved  by  logical  steps  from  the  pre- 
vailing type  of  preceding  reigns  and  was,  in 
short,  an  expression  of  Renaissance  Classicism, 
filtered  through  a  medium  of  English  interpre- 
tation and  adapted  to  local  needs,  on  lines  first 
marked  out  by  the  seventeenth  century  archi- 
tects headed  by  Inigo  Jones  and  Sir  Christopher 


WHITBY 


Copyright,  J .  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
HALL,    SOUTH    FRONT. 


MANTEL    DETAIL,     WHITBY    HALL. 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  129 

Wren.  The  stateliness  and  formality  of  Geor- 
gian design  satisfied  the  cravings  of  prosperous 
Colonial  gentry  for  the  affluent  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance with  which  they  chose  to  surround 
themselves. 

The  process  of  evolution  in  the  several  Geor- 
gian types  of  the  Philadelphia  neighbourhood 
was  slow  in  its  working,  perhaps,  but  unmis- 
takable as  a  comparison  of  examples  will  show. 
Indeed,  a  glance  at  the  illustrations  accompany- 
ing this  chapter  will  discover  easily  distin- 
guished differences  of  contour  and  detail  corre- 
sponding to  the  evolutionary  stages.  Fortu- 
nately, history  comes  to  aid  us,  removing  all 
element  of  conjecture  and  giving  us,  instead,  a 
comfortable  certainty  of  the  ground  we  are 
treading  on.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to 
set  any  exact  and  unalterable  dates  for  our  three 
Georgian  types ;  our  purpose  will  be  best  sub- 
served by  giving  approximate  dates  between 
which  certain  characteristics  may  be  looked  for 
and  certain  changes  expected  to  take  place. 
We  may,  roughly  speaking,  say  that  the  first 
type  flourished  between  1720  and  1740,  the 
second  type  from  1740  to  1770  and  the  third 
type  from  1770  to  1805.  Several  parts  of  these 
three  type  divisions  were  marked  by  times  of 
great  building  activity  and  others  again  by 
times  of  comparative  idleness.  From  1720  to 
1730  there  was  a  great  deal  going  on.     Then 


130   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

again,  about  1760,  we  find  a  regular  epidemic  of 
house  construction  breaking  out.  Just  before, 
during  and  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  as 
one  would  naturally  assume,  public  stress,  peril 
and  uncertainty  discouraged  the  prosecution 
of  new  plans,  although  the  builders,  even  then, 
were  not  wholly  idle.  What  has  just  been  said 
applies  particularly  to  country  seats,  as  we 
have  fuller  data  concerning  them  than  we  have 
about  most  of  the  town  houses.  What  were 
once  country  seats  have  been  selected,  too,  be- 
cause they  are,  for  the  most  part,  intact,  while 
comparatively  few  of  the  town  houses  remain 
in  their  original  interior  state,  being,  as  they 
chiefly  are,  in  a  part  of  the  city  now  given  over 
to  business  or  to  the  housing  of  the  foreign 
population. 

Philadelphia  affords  especially  favourable  op- 
portunity for  a  careful  examination  and  study 
of  the  several  types  of  Georgian  expression. 
Indeed,  for  purposes  of  comparison,  the  advan- 
tages it  offers  are  unsurpassed,  owing  to  the 
available  wealth  of  varied  material  of  the  best 
sorts,  and  that,  too,  in  a  state  of  excellent  pres- 
ervation. At  times  one  is  really  troubled 
with  an  embarrassment  of  riches  in  this  respect 
and  selection  becomes  difficult.  From  the  early 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Philadelphia 
advanced  rapidly  in  commercial  prosperity. 
Ship  building,  textile  industry  and  various  sorts 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  131 

of  manufactures  soon  brought  a  bulk  of  trade 
second  to  none  among  the  seaports  of  the 
Colonies.  Traffic  with  the  East  and  West 
Indies,  as  well  as  with  Europe,  poured  gold 
into  the  coffers  of  her  merchants  and  brought 
affluence  and  culture  at  an  early  stage  of  her 
career.  The  chief  wealth  of  her  most  consider- 
able citizens  was  almost  invariably  derived  from 
profitable  shipping  ventures.  By  1750  Penn's 
"greene  country  towne"  had  become  the  great- 
est and  most  important  city  in  the  country,  the 
metropolis  of  the  American  colonies.  "  No  other 
could  boast  of  so  many  streets,  so  many  houses, 
so  many  people,  so  much  renown.  No  other 
city  was  so  rich,  so  extravagant,  so  fashion- 
able." Among  the  features  that  impressed 
visitors  from  distant  lands  was  the  fineness 
of  the  houses.  Men  of  such  social  distinction 
and  substance  as  were  many  of  Philadelphia's 
principal  citizens  would  not  be  meanly  housed, 
and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  much 
of  the  best  domestic  Georgian  architecture  in 
America  is  to  be  found  in  the  city  or  in  its 
immediate  neighbourhood,  where  town  houses 
or  country  seats  mirrored  the  estate  and  conse- 
quence of  their  owners.  As  one  instance  —  and 
there  were  many  —  of  a  delightful  and  favourite 
suburb,  now  included  in  Fairmount  Park,  but 
then  well  beyond  the  city  boundaries,  we  may 
cite  that  portion  of  the  Schuylkill,  of  charm  and 


132   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

loveliness  unexcelled,  where  the  river  winds 
among  rolling  highlands  on  whose  summits 
spacious  homes  of  comely  dignity  sheltered  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  the  me- 
tropolis whose  society  was  gayer,  more  polished 
and  wealthier  than  anywhere  else  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  Here,  too,  the  country  seats 
bespoke  the  urbanity  and  degree  of  their  occu- 
pants, and  here,  today,  they  still  bear  mute 
witness  to  an  elegance  long  passed. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  architectural  wealth 
and  its  perfect  accessibility,  Philadelphia  has 
hitherto  received  but  scant  justice  at  the  hands 
of  many  architectural  writers.  In  an  highly 
esteemed  and  well  known  work,  properly  re- 
garded as  a  valuable  source  of  information 
anent  architecture  in  Colonial  and  Post-Colo- 
nial America,  the  writer  of  one  portion  has 
greatly  erred  in  his  estimate  and  analysis  of 
Philadelphia's  Georgian  remains,  probably 
through  insufficient  acquaintance  with  that 
part  of  his  subject.  After  referring  to  Phila- 
delphia as  architecturally  "the  embodiment  of 
Philistinism,"  he  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  build- 
ings of  Colonial  days  and  says  of  them,  "The 
details  generally  are  hard  and  crude  and  often 
inappropriate."  As  a  representative  example 
of  the  eighteenth  century  country  place  he  in- 
stances the  Bartram  house  and  writes,  "The 
home  of  the  Colonial  botanist,  John  Bartram, 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  133 

at  Philadelphia,  built  in  1731,  has  two-storey 
semi-detached  columns  with  huge  Ionic  scrolls. 
The  German  rococo  mouldings  in  the  window 
frames,  too,  are  out  of  all  scale  with  the  humble 
dwelling."  Bartram's  house  ought  not  to  be 
regarded  as  in  any  way  representative  of  Phila- 
delphia domestic  architecture,  and,  least  of  all, 
as  representative  of  Georgian  buildings.  It  is 
in  a  class  all  by  itself  and  represents  nothing 
but  John  Bartram's  home-made  efforts  in  both 
plan  —  if  it  can  be  said  to  have  any  plan  — 
and  execution  of  detail.  Whatever  its  incon- 
sistencies and  defects,  there  is  undeniably  the 
charm  of  beauty  and  interest  about  the  place, 
but  it  has  no  architectural  affinities.  The  same 
writer  goes  on  glibly  to  assure  his  readers  that 
"In  Pennsylvania  there  were  rarely  any  ve- 
randas, porches  or  gardens,"  —  a  mischievous 
and  misleading  statement. 

The  verandas  and  porches  may  take  care  of 
themselves  for  the  nonce,  but  the  gardens  need 
a  passing  word  of  vindication.  In  no  place  were 
there  more  notable  gardens  than  in  Philadelphia. 
Leaving  Bartram's  garden  out  of  the  horti- 
cultural tale  —  the  writer  might  cavil  at  it 
as  a  kind  of  nursery  —  there  was  "The  Wood- 
lands" near  by,  whose  gardens,  from  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  onward  were  as  ex- 
tensive and  famous  as  any  in  the  land,  and 
exquisitely  planned  and  maintained.     There  was 


134   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  Grange,  well  known  from  early  Colonial 
days,  whose  garden,  even  in  its  decay,  is  won- 
derful and  beautiful.  .  .  .  There  was  Ury 
House  whose  box  garden  has  been  the  pride  of 
its  owners  and  has  delighted  their  guests  for  more 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  and  is  today 
maintained  in  all  its  pristine  trimness.  There 
were  the  gardens  at  Grumblethorpe,  Nether- 
field,  Cedar  Grove,  the  Highlands,  Belmont, 
Fair  Hill,  to  name  only  a  few,  while  in  the  heart 
of  the  city  the  Bingham,  Powel,  Blackwell, 
Willing,  Morris,  and  Cadwalader  houses,  along 
with  many  others,  all  had  spacious  gardens, 
well  planted  and  tastefully  arranged.  A  writer 
who  could  ignore  all  this  material,  could  scarcely 
be  expected  to  do  justice  to  the  houses.  The 
examples  now  to  be  adduced  will  set  the  matter 
in  a  fairer  light. 

It  ought  to  be  stated  that  most  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  houses  in  Philadelphia  and  its 
neighbourhood  were  not  designed  by  profes- 
sional architects,  but  were  planned  by  their 
owners  and  executed  by  skillful  carpenters  and 
builders.  Some  architectural  knowledge  was 
held  to  be  a  part  of  a  gentleman's  education, 
and  such  men  as  Andrew  Hamilton  and  John 
Kearsley,  though  amateurs,  displayed  no  con- 
temptible ability.  The  master  carpenters  of 
the  city,  in  1724,  composed  a  guild  large  and 
prosperous  enough  to  be  patterned  after  "The 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  J  35 

Worshipful  Company  of  Carpenters  of  London," 
and,  in  1736,  became  possessed  of  a  choice  col- 
lection of  architectural  works  devised  to  his 
fellow  members  by  James  Portius  whom  William 
Penn  had  induced  to  come  to  his  new  city  to 
"design  and  execute  his  Proprietary  buildings." 
In  the  Ridgway  branch  of  the  Philadelphia 
Library  there  is  also  a  collection  of  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  century  books,  treating  of  archi- 
tecture, carpentry,  joinery  and  various  sub- 
jects connected  with  building,  an  examination 
of  which  will  show  that  the  artisans  of  the 
Georgian  period  were  well  supplied  with  guides 
devised  to  make  the  mysteries  of  their  craft 
plain  to  the  "meanest  understanding." 

The  two  houses  chosen  to  exemplify  the  first 
Georgian  type  are  Graeme  Park,  Horsham,  be- 
gun in  1721  and  finished  the  following  year  by 
Sir  William  Keith,  sometime  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernour  of  the  Province,  and  Hope  Lodge,  in  the 
Whitemarsh  Valley,  built  in  1723.  Graeme 
Park  was  then  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness 
and  a  special  road  had  to  be  cut,  still  called  the 
Governour's  Road,  to  enable  His  Excellency  to 
reach  the  Old  York  Road  whenever  he  chose  to 
trundle  to  the  city  in  his  great  begilt  and 
blazoned  coach,  drawn  by  four  stout  horses  and 
attended  with  all  the  panoply  of  state  as  befitted 
a  person  of  his  rank. 

The  house  suited  the  manorial  style  of  life 


136   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

maintained  by  the  baronet.  To  the  rear  of 
the  main  building  were  detached  wings  con- 
taining quarters  for  the  servants,  the  kitchens 
and  the  various  domestic  offices,  thus  leaving 
the  whole  of  the  hall  for  the  use  of  its  occupants. 
The  small  buildings  disappeared  years  ago,  and 
the  whole  place,  long  unoccupied,  is  gradually 
falling  into  decay,  a  plight  from  which,  however, 
it  could  be  easily  rescued.  The  house  is  over 
60  feet  long,  25  feet  in  depth  and  three  storeys 
in  height.  The  walls  are  of  rich  brown  field 
stone,  carefully  laid  and  fitted,  and  are  more 
than  2  feet  thick,  while  over  the  doors  and 
windows,  whose  dimensions  are  thoroughly  char- 
acteristic of  the  date  of  erection,  selected  stones 
are  laid  in  flattened  arches. 

At  the  north  end  of  the  building  is  a  great 
hall  or  parlour,  21  feet  square,  with  walls  wain- 
scotted  and  panelled  from  floor  to  ceiling,  a 
height  of  fourteen  feet.  The  fireplace  in  the 
parlour  is  faced  with  dark  marble,  brought 
from  abroad,  while  in  the  other  rooms  Dutch 
tiles  were  used  for  the  same  purpose.  On 
each  floor  are  three  rooms.  Stairs  and  banis- 
ters are  of  heavy  white  oak,  and  all  the  other 
woodwork,  of  yellow  pine,  is  of  unusual  beauty, 
executed  in  simple  and  vigorous  design.  The 
woodwork  is  worthy  of  special  attention,  for 
therein  we  may  see  embodied  some  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  first  Georgian  type.     The 


MIDDLE  C0L0ND3S  GEORGIAN  137 

detail  of  ornamentation  is  heavy  and  bold, 
though  by  no  means  ungraceful.  Mouldings 
and  cornices  are  more  pronounced  in  profile 
than  we  find  them  at  a  later  date  and  stand  out 
with  peculiarly  insistent  relief,  while  certain 
forms  quite  vanished  in  subsequent  types. 
The  close  affinity  with  the  moulding  details  of 
the  distinctively  Queen  Anne  type  is  strongly 
noticeable.  One  feature  worth  mentioning  is 
the  mantel  shelf  in  the  parlour.  Such  shelves 
were  rarely  found  till  a  later  date. 

Hope  Lodge,  hard  by  St.  Thomas's  Hill,  in  the 
Whitemarsh  Valley,  was  built  in  1723,  as  pre- 
viously stated.  It  is  a  great  square  brick 
structure  of  two  storeys  in  height  with  a  hipped 
roof.  As  at  Stenton  (built  in  1728),  the  bricks 
are  laid  in  Flemish  bond  and  occasional  black 
headers  appear.  The  doors  and  windows,  like 
those  of  Graeme  Park,  Stenton  and  other  con- 
temporary houses,  belonging  to  the  first  Geor- 
gian type,  are  higher  and  narrower  in  propor- 
tion than  those  of  a  later  date.  Over  the  front 
windows  are  wedge-shaped  lintels,  flush  with 
the  wall  surface,  formed  of  bricks  set  vertically 
in  the  centre  and  gradually  spreading  fanwise 
toward  the  sides  in  diagonals  convergent  to  the 
base.  Some  of  the  windows  at  the  sides  and 
back  show  the  flattened  arches,  to  be  seen  at 
Graeme  Park  and  Stenton,  over  slightly  counter- 
sunk  tympana   above   the   frame   tops.     Over 


138   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

some  of  the  doors  are  transoms  of  six  or  seven 
square  lights  in  a  single  row,  while  over  the  tall 
and  very  narrow  side  door,  just  as  at  Stenton 
and  as  over  the  two  narrow  rear  doors  at  Graeme 
Park,  there  is  a  transom  of  eight  square  lights 
in  two  rows  of  four  each.  A  cornice  at  the  eaves 
has  a  deep  sweeping  cove  of  plaster  on  a  lath 
backing,  while  the  heavy  moulding  courses  are 
of  wood.  Viewed  from  the  front,  the  roof  is 
hipped,  but  from  the  side  it  presents  a  curious 
combination  of  hip  and  gambrel. 

Within,  a  hall  of  unusual  width,  far  larger  than 
most  rooms  nowadays,  traverses  the  full  depth 
of  the  house  and  opens  into  spacious  chambers 
on  each  side.  The  chief  rooms  have  round 
arched  doorways  and  narrow  double  doors, 
heavily  panelled.  All  the  panelling,  in  fact,  is 
heavy.  The  single  doors  of  the  first  floor  are 
surmounted  by  handsome  pediments.  There  are 
deep  panelled  window  seats  in  the  ground  floor 
rooms  and  the  windows  have  exceptionally  broad 
and  heavy  muntins.  The  breadth  of  the  fire- 
places, faced  with  dark  Scotch  marble,  and  the 
massiveness  of  the  wainscotting  correspond 
with  the  other  features.  Throughout  the  house 
all  the  woodwork,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
fetched  from  England,  though  handsomely 
wrought,  is  heavy  and  most  substantial.  Mid- 
way back  in  the  hall  a  flattened  arch  springs 
from  fluted  pilasters  with  capitals  of  a  peculiar 


MIDDLE  C0L0ND3S  GEORGIAN  139 

design.  The  stairway,  which  is  remarkably 
good,  and  strongly  suggests  an  old  English 
arrangement,  ascends  laterally  from  the  rear 
hall.  Back  of  the  house  a  wide,  brick-paved 
porch  connects  with  another  building  where 
were  the  servants'  quarters  and  kitchens  —  an 
arrangement  characteristic  of  the  period. 

Of  the  houses  representative  of  the  second 
Georgian  type,  Whitby  Hall,  Kingsessing,  West 
Philadelphia,  comes  first  on  the  list.  The 
western  end  of  Whitby  Hall,  the  part  with 
which  we  are  here  concerned,  was  added  in 
1754  by  Colonel  James  Coultas,  "merchant, 
ship  owner,  farmer,  mill  owner,  fox  hunter, 
vestryman,  soldier,  judge,  High  Sheriff  of  Phila- 
delphia from  1755  to  1758,  and  enthusiastic 
promoter  of  all  philanthropic  and  public  enter- 
prises." The  gables  of  the  high  pitched  roof 
face  north  and  south  and  are  pierced  with  oval 
windows  to  light  the  cock  loft.  The  walls,  not 
on  one  side  only,  as  is  often  the  case  where  a 
special  nicety  of  finish  was  sought,  but  all  the 
way  round,  are  built  of  carefully  squared  and 
dressed  native  grey  stone.  On  the  south  front 
is  a  flag  paved  piazza,  surmounted  by  a  graceful 
spindled  balustrade,  while  around  the  western 
and  northern  sides  runs  a  penthouse.  The 
deeply  coved  cornice  beneath  the  eaves  is  carried 
in  a  continuous  horizontal  line  as  a  string  course 
across  the  gable  end  or  rather  the  gable  side  walls. 


140  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

A  remarkable  feature  about  Whitby  is  the 
arrangement  of  the  roof.  It  is  the  exact  re- 
verse of  what  is  ordinarily  found.  The  ridge 
pole,  instead  of  running  parallel  to  the  length 
of  the  structure,  traverses  its  breadth,  thus 
making  the  peak  higher,  the  slope  longer,  and 
allowing  space  for  a  roomy  third  floor,  all  of 
which  the  view  of  the  south  front  clearly  shows. 
This  arrangement  also  avoids  the  need  of 
dormers.  "On  the  north  front  is  a  tower-like 
projection  in  which  the  stairway  ascends  with 
broad  landings.  The  low  doorway  in  this 
tower  has  always  been  used  on  occasions  of 
large  gatherings  at  Whitby,  whether  grave  or 
gay,  because  it  admits  to  the  wide  hall  running 
through  the  western  wing,  giving  admittance  to 
the  large  rooms  on  either  side.  The  doorway 
and  windows  in  the  tower  are  all  surrounded  by 
brick  trims,  which  give  both  variety  and  dis- 
tinction against  the  grey  stone  walls  —  a  treat- 
ment not  often  met  with  near  Philadelphia. 
In  the  top  of  the  pediment  with  its  dentilled 
cornice,  a  bull's  eye  light,  also  surrounded  with 
brick  trim,  is  of  particular  interest  because  it 
was  a  porthole  glass  from  one  of  Colonel  Coul- 
tas's  favourite  ships,  and  was  set  there  because 
of  a  cherished  sentiment.  On  peak  and  corners 
of  the  tower  pediment  three  urns  add  a  note  of 
state. 

"All  the    woodwork   and   sundry   embellish- 


MANTEL    IN    PARLOUR,    MOUNT    PLEASANT, 

PHILADELPHIA.      1761. 

Middle   Colonies   Georgian,    second   phase. 


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Copyright,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
THE    WOODLANDS,     SOUTH     FRONT.     PHILADELPHIA, 
C.     1770. 
Middle  Colonies  Georgian,  third  phase. 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  141 

merits  of  the  1754  addition  were  fetched  from 
England  in  Colonel  Coultas's  ships.  The  pilas- 
ters and  cornices  in  the  hall  are  exceptionally- 
fine.  Rosettes  are  carved  in  the  dog  ears  of 
the  door  trims  and  the  cheeks  and  soffits  of  the 
jambs  are  set  with  bevel-flush  panels.  In  the 
parlour  the  carving  of  the  overmantel  and  the 
panelling  are  unsurpassed  for  either  execution 
or  design.  The  central  panel  above  the  fire- 
place is  three  feet  high  and  nearly  six  feet  wide, 
and  not  a  joint  can  be  discovered  in  it.  Below 
it  is  a  band  of  exquisitely  wrought  floriated 
carving  in  high  relief.  Although  it  is  possible 
to  find  more  elaborate  woodwork,  it  is  rarely 
that  one  meets  with  a  degree  of  elaboration 
tempered  with  such  dignified  restraint  and  con- 
summate good  taste." 

Another  house  of  the  second  Georgian  type 
is  Mount  Pleasant,  or  Clunie,  as  it  was  at  first 
called,  in  Fairmount  Park,  built  in  1761  by 
Captain  John  Macpherson,  and  in  later  years 
the  home  of  Benedict  Arnold.  Mount  Pleasant 
is  a  structure  of  almost  baronial  aspect,  with 
east  and  west  fronts  alike  of  imposing  mien. 
An  high  foundation  of  carefully  squared  stones 
is  pierced  by  iron  barred  basement  windows 
set  in  stone  frames.  Above  this  massive,  grisly 
base,  the  thick  stone  walls  are  coated  with 
yellow-grey  roughcast.  Heavy  quoins  of  brick 
at  the  corners  and,  at  the  north  and  south  ends 


142   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

of  the  building,  great  quadruple  chimneys  joined 
into  one  at  the  top  by  arches,  create  an  air  of 
more  than  usual  solidity.  A  broad  flight  of 
stone  steps,  their  iron  balustrades  overgrown 
with  a  bushy  mass  of  honeysuckle,  leads  up  to 
a  doorway  of  generous  breadth.  The  pillars  at 
each  side  of  the  door  and  the  superimposed  pedi- 
ment, the  ornate  Palladian  window  immedi- 
ately above  on  the  second  floor  and,  above  that 
again,  the  cornice  pediment  springing  from 
the  eaves,  all  contribute  to  set  a  stamp  of  courtly 
distinction  upon  the  pile. 

Above  the  second  floor  the  hipped  roof  springs, 
pierced  east  and  west  by  two  graceful  dormers 
and  crowned  by  a  well  turned  balustrade  that 
traverses  nearly  the  whole  distance  between  the 
chimneys.  The  fan  light  over  the  door  has 
remarkably  heavy,  fluted  mullions  and  much 
of  the  detail  throughout  the  house,  though  highly 
wrought,  is  heavy.  The  two  flanking  outbuild- 
ings, set  30  or  40  feet  distant  from  the  north- 
east and  southeast  corners  of  the  house,  de- 
signed for  servants'  quarters  and  domestic 
offices,  give  Mount  Pleasant  a  peculiarly  strik- 
ing appearance.  Without  them  it  would  be 
only  an  unusually  handsome  Georgian  country 
house,  with  them  it  at  once  takes  on  the  manorial 
port  of  one  of  the  old  Virginia  mansions.  The 
interior  woodwork,  both  upstairs  and  down, 
is  rich  in  elaboration  of  detail,  and  the  door 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  143 

frames,  with  their  heavily  moulded  pediments, 
are   exceptionally   fine. 

Cliveden,  the  third  member  of  the  second 
group,  was  built  in  1761  by  Chief  Justice  Chew. 
Its  solid  and  heavy  masonry  is  of  carefully 
dressed  Germantown  stone,  and  at  the  peaks 
of  the  gables  and  corners  of  the  roof  are  great 
stone  urns.  Back  of  the  house  are  two  wings, 
one  semi-detached  and  the  other  entirely  so, 
used  for  servants'  quarters  and  domestic  offices. 
All  the  features  and  detail  about  Cliveden  are 
thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  same  charac- 
teristics as  in  the  other  two  houses  already 
described. 

The  windows  are  broad  and  fill  a  great  part 
of  the  wall  space  in  the  facade,  and  the  doorway 
is  an  essential  feature  that  has  been  made  the 
most  of  by  the  architect.  Both  indoors  and  out 
the  strongly  classic  feeling  has  been  emphasised 
in  pillar  and  pediment,  pilaster  and  entablature. 
Triglyphs,  guttse  and  every  other  detail  of 
classic  embellishment  have  been  wrought  with 
the  nice  precision  due  a  worthy  subject. 

Comparing  Whitby,  Mount  Pleasant  and 
Cliveden  with  the  former  houses  of  the  first 
Georgian  type,  certain  differences  at  once  strike 
us.  The  whole  aspect  is  changed  by  the  greater 
breadth  of  windows  and  doors.  The  houses 
look  wider  awake.  This  change  in  the  size  of 
the  windows  means,  of  course,  that  the  rooms 


144   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

within  in  most  cases  were  lighter  and  more 
cheerful  than  before.  Then,  too,  the  Palla- 
dian  window  has  appeared.  Both  Mount  Pleas- 
ant and  Cliveden  afford  good  examples  of  it, 
Cliveden's  being  placed  at  the  side  while  at 
Mount  Pleasant  it  forms  an  important  feature 
in  both  the  east  and  west  fronts. 

At  Mount  Pleasant  and  Cliveden  we  see,  too, 
that  the  door  has  become  a  subject  for  elaborate 
treatment,  quite  in  contrast  to  the  extremely 
simple  and  unassuming  manner  of  dealing  with 
the  same  feature  in  the  earlier  houses.  At 
Mount  Pleasant  the  severity  of  the  roof  line  is 
tempered  by  a  balustrade  and  the  effective 
management  of  the  chimneys  while,  at  Whitby 
and  Cliveden,  urns  embellish  the  peaks  and 
corners.  Within  we  find  that  acanthus  leaves 
and  thistles  have  begun  to  grow,  the  rose  has 
blossomed,  other  conventional  flowers  and  foli- 
age have  budded  and  egg  and  dart  mouldings 
have  appeared.  In  other  words,  carving  as  a 
mode  of  embellishment  has  attained  an  estab- 
lished vogue.  The  moulding  profiles  have  lost 
some  of  their  trenchant  boldness  and,  though 
the  ornamental  detail,  both  indoors  and  out, 
is  still  vigorous,  and  at  times  massive,  there  is 
generally  visible  an  air  of  delicacy  and  refine- 
ment not  present  before. 

The  Woodlands,  the  Highlands,  and  Upsala 
exemplify  for  us  the  third  type  of  Georgian. 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  145 

William  Hamilton  built  the  Woodlands  about 
1770.  Anthony  Morris  finished  the  Highlands 
in  1796,  and  Norton  Johnson  began  Upsala 
in  1798  and  completed  it  three  years  later. 
Across  the  north  front  of  the  Woodlands,  at 
regular  intervals,  are  six  Ionic  pilasters  above 
whose  tops  runs  an  elaborately  ornamented 
entablature  with  paterae  and  flutings,  the  whole 
surmounted  by  a  pediment.  Before  the  house 
is  a  low  and  broad  paved  terrace  filling  the  space 
between  the  semi-circular  bays  that  project 
from  the  ends  of  the  building.  Between  the 
two  middle  pilasters,  a  round  arched  doorway 
with  a  fan  light  opens  into  the  hall.  On  the 
south  or  river  front  a  flight  of  steps  ascends  to  a 
lofty  white  pillared  portico  from  which  a  door 
opens  directly  into  the  oval  shaped  ballroom. 

In  another  respect  the  whole  exterior  aspect 
of  the  Woodlands  is  different  from  the  houses 
of  the  second  type.  Window  treatment  is 
always  a  most  important  item  in  determining 
architectural  character  and  it  is  just  here  that 
a  significant  change  is  to  be  noted.  The  size 
of  the  opening  is,  in  some  cases,  the  same,  in 
others  it  is  larger  but,  more  noticeable  still,  the 
muntins  are  far  smaller  and  we  lose  the  bold, 
trenchant  barring  of  white  that  emphasises  the 
aspect  of  windows  of  the  earlier  buildings. 

The  interior  is  finished  with  all  the  delicacy 
that  one  might  expect  judging  from  the  evi- 


146   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

dences  of  Adam  influence  without.  One  highly 
significant  feature  of  interior  treatment  in  houses 
of  the  third  type  is  the  change  made  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  mantels.  We  have  seen  that 
in  houses  of  the  first  type,  such  as  Graeme 
Park  and  in  houses  of  the  second  type,  such  as 
Whitby  Hall  or  Mount  Pleasant,  the  overmantel 
panelling  and  embellishment  were  accorded 
much  care  and  elaboration.  The  chimney 
breast  often  extended  a  considerable  distance 
into  the  room  and  the  ornamental  superstruc- 
ture above  the  fireplace  reached  all  the  way  to 
the  ceiling.  v. 

Although  these  ornate  overmantels  reaching 
to  the  ceiling  had  begun  to  fall  into  disfavour 
in  England  a  little  after  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  when  houses  of  the  second 
Georgian  type  were  being  erected  in  the  Phila- 
delphia neighbourhood,  Colonial  conservatism 
disregarded  the  newer  style  and  clung  to  the 
mode  approved  by  time-honoured  precedent. 
The  fireplace  with  its  setting  has  always  held 
a  position  of  such  exalted  honour  as  the  centre 
of  family  life  that  the  following  extract  from 
Clouston's  Treatise  on  Chippendale  is  partic- 
ularly illuminating  in  this  connexion.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  influence  exerted  by  Sir  William 
Chambers  on  architecture  as  well  as  on  furni- 
ture, he  says  :  —  "When  he  returned  to  England 
in  1755,  [from  the  Continent]  he  was   accom- 


THE     WOODLANDS,     NORTH     FRONT. 


Copyright,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 

THE    HIGHLANDS,    WHITEMARSH    VALLEY,     PA.      1796. 
Middle   Colonies    Georgian,    third   phase. 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  147 

panied  by  Wilton  and  Cipriani,  afterwards  so 
well  known  as  an  artist  and  decorator.  He 
also  brought  Italian  sculptors  to  carve  the 
marble  mantelpieces  he  introduced  into  English 
houses. 

These  were  made  from  his  own  designs,  and 
the  ornament  of  figures,  scrolls,  and  foliage 
was  free  in  character.  Strange  to  say,  these 
mantelpieces,  designed  and  made  by  an  archi- 
tect, were  yet  the  means  of  taking  away  this 
important  part  of  interior  decoration  from  the 
hands  of  the  architect  altogether  and  causing 
it  to  become  quite  a  separate  production,  made 
and  sold  along  with  the  grates. 

In  former  times  it  had  been  an  integrant 
portion  of  the  room,  reaching  from  floor  to 
ceiling,  balanced  and  made  part  of  the  wall  by 
having  its  main  lines  carried  round  in  panelling 
and  enriched  friezes.  It  was  the  keynote  of 
decoration  and  the  master  builder  of  the  times 
grew  fanciful  and  exerted  his  utmost  skill  upon 
its  carving  and  quaint  imagery,  centralising 
the  whole  ornament  of  the  room  around  the 
household  shrine. 

Mantelpieces  had  gradually  come  down  in 
height,  though  still  retaining  much  of  their 
fine  proportions  and  classic  design.  Many 
causes  had  contributed  to  this,  the  chief  being 
the  disuse  of  wood  panelling  and  the  prefer- 
ence   given    to    hangings    of    damask,    foreign 


148   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

leather  and  wall-paper.  In  the  reigns  of  Queen 
Anne  and  the  Little  Dutchman  the  custom  of 
panelling  was  partially  kept  up  but  the  lining 
was  only  white  painted  deal,  after  the  fashion 
in  Holland.  At  this  time  the  upper  part  of  the 
chimney  piece  was  still  retained,  but  only 
reached  about  half  way  up  the  wall.  Gibbs, 
Kent  and  Ware  kept  the  superstructure  as 
much  as  they  could,  but  Sir  Wiliam  Chambers 
dealt  it  the  most  crushing  blow  it  had  yet 
received  by  copying  the  later  French  and 
Italian  styles  and  giving  minute  detail  more 
consideration  than  fine  proportion.  He  dis- 
carded the  upper  part  altogether  and  helped 
to  make  'continued  chimney  pieces'  things  of 
the  past." 

The  much  used  Adam  oval  found  expression 
even  in  the  shapes  of  rooms,  and  besides  the 
oval  ballroom  at  the  Woodlands,  we  frequently 
find  in  houses  of  the  third  type  rounded  or 
elliptical  hallways  and  chambers. 

At  the  Highlands,  in  the  Whitemarsh  Valley, 
we  see  the  front  of  the  house  adorned  with  tall 
Ionic  pilasters  rising  from  base  course  to  cornice, 
which  is  itself  elaborately  wrought.  The  wood- 
work inside  is  excellent,  but  unfortunately  the 
Adam  mantels  with  their  compo  decoration  have 
been  removed  and  now  grace  another  house 
some  miles  distant.  At  Upsala,  in  German- 
town,  however,  we  are  in  better  luck,  for  there 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  149 

the  Adam  mantels  have  remained  untouched. 
The  illustrations  show  the  rest  of  the  house  and 
make  further  specific  comment  unnecessary, 
save  to  remark,  regarding  the  windows,  that 
here,  as  in  other  houses  of  this  latest  type,  larger 
panes  of  glass  than  in  the  two  earlier  types  are 
met  with  in  not  a  few  instances. 

Before  proceeding  further  in  the  course  of 
comparison,  a  word  ought  to  be  said  about  the 
colour  of  the  paint  used  for  interior  woodwork 
of  the  Georgian  houses  of  all  three  types.  For 
some  reason  there  seems  to  be  an  impression 
abroad  that  white  was  employed  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  everything  else.  There  was,  it  is  true, 
a  preponderance  of  white  but  its  use  was  by 
no  means  universal.  A  close  examination  of 
successive  layers  of  paint  on  some  old  woodwork 
reveals  various  shades  of  greys,  blues,  drabs, 
brownish  yellows  and  other  hues  beneath  one 
or  more  coats  of  white.  Grey  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  the  earliest  variants  from  white 
and,  in  some  places,  nothing  else  was  ever  used. 
At  Graeme  Park,  for  instance,  the  first  coat  of 
paint  was  grey,  and  no  other  colour  ever  adorned 
its  panelling  and  door  and  window  trims.  At 
Stenton,  on  the  other  hand,  the  taste  of  the 
occupants  dictated  a  change  of  colour  from 
time  to  time  and  we  find  a  good  deal  of  variety 
in  the  successive  coats.  During  the  prevalence 
of  the  second  Georgian  type  white  seems  to  have 


150  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

found    more    general    favour.     With    our    last 
type,  delicate  colours  again  began  to  be  used. 

Contrasting  the  Woodlands,  the  Highlands 
and  Upsala  with  the  houses  illustrating  the 
second  Georgian  type,  we  find  still  further  evi- 
dences of  architectural  evolution.  During  the 
prevalence  of  the  second  type  individual  features 
were  singled  out  for  decorative  emphasis,  but 
in  the  days  of  the  third  type  the  entire  front  of 
the  house  or  sometimes  the  whole  exterior  was 
regarded  from  a  decorative  point  of  view.  At 
Cliveden  the  treatment  of  the  doorway  and  the 
urns  on  the  roof  are  the  features  relied  upon  for 
the  embellishment  of  the  facade.  At  Mount 
Pleasant  the  doorways  of  the  east  and  west 
fronts,  the  Palladian  windows  above  them,  the 
balustrade  on  the  roof  and  the  treatment  of  the 
chimneys  supply  a  fuller  and  more  ornate  deco- 
rative effect.  But  when  we  reach  the  third 
period  we  see  that  the  architect  has  considered 
carefully  the  decorative  element  in  both  the 
proportions  and  detail  of  the  whole  building. 
It  would  be  hard  to  believe  that  the  designer  of 
the  Woodlands,  in  drawing  his  plans,  had  not 
carefully  aimed  at  the  pleasing  ensemble  of  the 
masses.  The  effect  of  the  rounded  ends  is 
agreeable  and  a  marked  departure  from  the 
straightforward  rectangularity  of  most  of  the 
houses  of  preceding  types.  The  lofty  portico 
of  the  Woodlands  south  or  river  front  had  no 


MIDDLE  COLONEES  GEORGIAN  151 

precedent  in  Philadelphia.  Vaux  Hill  or  Fat- 
land,  erected  about  the  same  time,  and  Loudoun, 
a  few  years  later,  had  the  same  motif,  and  even 
John  Bartram,  in  his  last  addition  to  his  house, 
adopted  the  same  treatment.  Neither  was 
there  a  precedent  for  the  method  of  dealing 
with  the  north  front,  so  we  see  that  the  Wood- 
lands struck  two  new  notes  in  local  architec- 
ture. 

At  the  Woodlands  and  the  Highlands  we  find 
pilasters  carried  the  full  height  of  the  walls  —  a 
new  feature.  The  fenestration  is  arranged  with 
more  regard  to  outward  appearance  and  not 
solely  from  a  utilitarian  point  of  view.  We  find 
that  the  high  panelled  overmantels,  which 
constituted  an  important  architectural  feature, 
had  given  place  to  the  low  and  elaborately 
adorned  mantel  that  ought  to  be  regarded 
rather  as  a  piece  of  furniture  than  as  an  archi- 
tectural entity.  Fireplaces  had  grown  smaller, 
fan  lights  above  doors  had  become  common  and 
were  enriched  with  beautiful  and  sometimes 
intricate  metal  tracery.  The  comparison  be- 
tween these  later  fan  lights  with  their  airy  grace, 
and  the  earlier  fan  lights  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
with  their  ponderous  mouldings,  is  instructive. 
In  the  detail  of  all  ornament  heaviness  has 
vanished  and  the  polished  elegance  of  Adam 
influence  has  taken  its  place.  Everywhere  we 
find  paterae,  drops  and  swags,  fluting  and  quill- 


152   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ing,  oval  fans  and  dainty  urns  and  vases  with 
delicate  leaf  and  flower  treatment. 

Regarding  the  texture  of  stone  walls,  we 
ought  also  to  note  that  in  the  second  and  third 
types  we  find  neatly  squared  and  dressed  stones 
used  to  a  considerable  extent.  At  Cliveden, 
the  Highlands  and  Upsala  the  fronts  alone  are 
of  cut  stone  while  at  Whitby  Hall  the  walls  on 
all  sides  are  treated  with  the  same  formal 
precision. 

Briefly  summing  up,  then,  it  is  clear  that  three 
distinct  types  exist.  The  first  has  Queen  Anne 
affinities  but  is  Georgian  in  time  and  much  of 
its  feeling.  Ornamental  detail  is  simple  and 
bold  and  at  times  a  trifle  heavy.  The  profiles 
of  mouldings  are  strong  and  in  high  relief. 
Simplicity  and  strength,  combined  with  grace, 
give  the  prevailing  note  in  every  instance.  The 
second  type  is  lighter  and  more  ornate,  but 
with  characteristic  conservatism  and  abhorrence 
of  the  new  fangled  whims  of  Sir  William  Cham- 
bers and  the  Brothers  Adam,  Philadelphia  ad- 
hered to  the  modes  in  vogue  in  England  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  years  before  and  kept 
Ware  in  countenance  who,  in  1750,  was  still 
crowning  his  buildings  with  heavy  Queen  Anne 
urns. 

Notwithstanding  the  staunch  adherence  to 
conservative  architectural  principles,  however,  a 
new  feeling  is  everywhere  perceptible.     Though 


MIDDLE  COLONLES  GEORGIAN  153 

the  overmantel  decorations  still  extended  all 
the  way  to  the  ceiling,  the  character  of  the  orna- 
mentation employed  was  vastly  more  elaborate 
and  graceful  than  anything  to  be  found  in 
buildings  of  the  first  type.  If  the  profiles  of 
mouldings  were  not  so  bold  and  insistent  they 
were,  nevertheless,  quite  as  graceful.  With 
the  advent  of  floriated  and  foliated  motifs  in  the 
carving,  we  naturally  find  a  closer  care  to  detail 
of  all  kinds.  At  the  same  time  there  is  to  be 
seen  a  more  punctilious  heed  to  all  the  little 
niceties  and  characteristic  distinctions  between 
the  classic  orders. 

By  the  time  our  third  Georgian  type  appears, 
Adam  influence  has  become  paramount  and 
put  to  flight  all  mid-Georgian  ponderosity. 
Even  in  the  case  of  manifestly  "carpenter 
built"  houses  of  the  period,  where,  quite  unlike 
the  three  excellent  examples  here  chosen  to  repre- 
sent their  particular  classes,  no  especial  archi- 
tectural merit  is  to  be  looked  for,  we  find  no 
heaviness  of  line,  and  the  character  of  orna- 
mentation employed  is  distinctly  either  a  copy 
or  an  echo  of  Adam  motifs  and,  in  not  a  few 
cases,  has  caught  much  of  their  spirit. 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  houses  used  for 
illustration  have  been  chosen  because  they  rep- 
resent their  many  contemporaries  in  the  same 
neighbourhood,  all  of  which  display  the  same 
characteristics  according  to  the  date  at  which 


154  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

they  were  built.  The  foregoing  analysis  does 
not  pretend  to  be  complete  —  it  would  take 
far  more  space  to  trace  all  the  subtleties  of  the 
subject  —  but  aims  only  to  direct  attention  to 
certain  facts  that  may  conduce  to  our  clearer 
understanding  of  American  Georgian  and  its 
resources  in  supplying  our  present  needs. 

In  considering  the  variations  between  the 
Georgian  types  of  the  Philadelphia  neighbour- 
hood it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  they  ought 
not  to  be  judged  too  straitly  by  contempprary 
work  in  England.  Such  comparison  would  only 
be  misleading  and  unfair  for  several  reasons. 
In  the  first  place,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Geor- 
gian period,  local  conditions  forbade  the  lavish 
display  of  carved  ornamentation  that  marked 
so  many  houses  of  the  same  date  in  England. 
At  that  time  there  were  few  craftsmen  in  the 
Colonies  capable  of  executing  the  elaborate 
carving  in  vogue  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. The  builders  of  mansions,  therefore,  must 
perforce  content  themselves  by  a  close  adher- 
ence to  line  and  proportion  and  do  without 
the  highly  wrought  carved  embellishment. 
Then,  too,  besides  this  difficulty,  many  of  the 
builders  of  these  early  houses  belonged  to  the 
Society  of  Friends,  most  of  whom  from  their 
religious  principles  were  averse  to  a  wealth  of 
ornament.  In  the  second  place,  judging  by 
contemporary  English  standards  would  be  mis- 


MIDDLE  COLONIES  GEORGIAN  155 

leading  because  at  the  time  the  second  Phila- 
delphia Georgian  type  began  to  flourish,  and  the 
means  and  inclination  for  elaborate  ornament 
were  both  present,  Colonial  conservatism  had 
become  an  important  factor  in  the  dictation  of 
style,  and  however  closely  Philadelphians  might 
copy  the  current  modes  of  London  in  matters 
of  dress,  in  their  manners  and  architecture  they 
chose  to  cling  to  well  established  precedent  and 
had  always  remained  thenceforward  from  twenty 
to  thirty  years  back  of  their  British  cousins  in 
the  method  of  their  architectural  expression. 
Hence,  for  instance,  the  overmantels  reaching 
to  the  ceiling  built  as  late  as  1765.  In  all  its 
phases,  however,  Philadelphia  Georgian,  what- 
ever minor  differences  there  might  have  been, 
was  true  to  the  traditions  of  the  great  English 
architects,  and  because  of  its  purity  of  style  is 
worthy  of  close  study  today  for  the  vital  in- 
spiration it  can  supply. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  OP  THE  SOUTH 

IF  ever  the  architecture  of  a  region  or  period 
truly  reflected  the  personality  and  manner 
of  life  of  the  people,  it  was  surely  the 
Georgian  architecture  of  the  South  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  The  planters  of  that  region 
were  affluent  and  highly  cultured  and  so  emi- 
nently gifted  with  the  social  instinct  that  the 
manor  houses  and  mansions  could  not  fail  to 
indicate  by  their  material  aspect  the  lavish 
hospitality  and  splendid  estate  that  it  was  the 
wont  of  their  owners  to  maintain.  The  great 
Georgian  houses,  surrounded  by  broad  planta- 
tions, that  dotted  the  whole  land,  could  have 
been  erected  only  in  a  society  possessed  of 
abundant  wealth.  And  the  South  was  opulent. 
Blessed  by  nature,  as  the  country  was,  with  a 
genial  climate  and  fruitful  soil,  and  favoured  by 
exceptional  economic  conditions,  great  fortunes 
had  accumulated  which  permitted  the  existence 
of  a  large  leisure  class  and  encouraged  a  pro- 
found regard  for  all  the  comforts  and  refine- 

156 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH    157 

ments  of  physical  environment.  In  New  Eng- 
land we  have  seen  that  the  architectural  riches 
of  the  Georgian  style  were  chiefly  reserved  for 
interior  embellishment,  while  the  majority  of 
exteriors  were  allowed  to  go  comparatively 
unadorned,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions.  In 
the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  the  exuberance 
of  nature  and  the  seductive  charm  of  the  climate 
invited  the  builder  of  a  house  to  expand  his 
plans  and  take  full  advantage  of  impressive 
physical  settings.  Consequently  we  have  the 
amplitude  of  aspect  so  typical  of  the  Southern 
mansion,  an  amplitude  that  is  also  in  some 
measure  due  to  the  extensive  domestic  entourage 
and  made  possible  by  the  abundant  means  of 
the  occupants. 

That  the  wealthy  Southern  planters  should 
require  surroundings  of  domestic  splendour  that 
would  have  been  impossible  in  most  other  parts 
of  the  Colonies,  either  from  lack  of  means  or 
lack  of  inclination  to  indulge  in  so  lavish  an 
expenditure,  surroundings  that  had  much  in 
common  with  the  conditions  obtaining  on  many 
of  the  baronial  estates  in  England,  we  may  under- 
stand when  we  consider,  by  way  of  example, 
the  history  of  the  Byrd  family  of  Westover  in 
Virginia.  Colonel  William  Byrd,  the  first  of 
the  family  in  America,  came  to  Virginia  in  1674. 
He  built  the  first  house  at  Westover  in  1690  and 
at  his  death  left,  as  part  of  his  estate,  a  domain 


158   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

of  26,231  acres.  His  son,  Colonel  William  Byrd 
2nd,  succeeding  to  this  great  wealth  and  further 
increasing  his  fortune  by  his  second  marriage, 
began  the  erection  of  the  present  house  about 
1727  and  completed  it  some  time  prior  to  1735. 
When  this  second  William  Byrd,  "William  the 
Great  of  West  over,  died  in  1744,  the  acres  of 
the  noble  estate  numbered  179,440,  about  281 
square  miles,  a  veritable  principality  indeed. " 
It  has  been  said  of  him  that  "his  path  through 
life  was  a  path  of  roses.  He  had  wealth,  cul- 
ture, the  best  private  library  in  America,  social 
consideration,  and  hosts  of  friends;  and  when 
he  went  to  sleep  under  the  monument  in  the 
garden  at  Westover,  he  left  behind  him  not  only 
the  reputation  of  a  good  citizen,  but  that  of  the 
great  Virginia  wit  and  author  of  the  century." 
His  epitaph,  after  calling  attention  to  the  edu- 
cational advantages  he  had  enjoyed  and  his 
close  friendships  with  many  of  the  greatest  men 
of  his  day  in  England,  goes  on  to  relate  that 
"he  was  called  to  the  bar  in  the  Middle  Temple, 
studied  for  some  time  in  the  Low  Countries, 
visited  the  Court  of  France,  and  was  chosen 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  Thus  eminently 
fitted  for  the  service  and  ornament  of  his  coun- 
try, he  was  made  Receiver  general  of  his  Maj- 
esty's revenues  here,  was  thrice  appointed  pub- 
lick  agent  to  the  Court  and  ministry  of  England, 
and  being  thirty-seven  years  a  member,  at  last 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH    159 

became  President  of  the  Council  of  this  Colony. 
To  all  this  were  added  a  great  elegancy  and 
taste  of  life,  the  well  bred  gentleman  and  polite 
companion." 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  man  so 
endowed  by  nature,  education  and  the  posses- 
sion of  vast  wealth  should  build  in  a  manner 
suited  to  his  condition.  In  fact  it  would  have 
been  strange  if  he  had  not.  But  William  Byrd 
was  not  alone  in  his  enjoyment  of  unusual 
advantages.  Although  the  incidents  of  his  his- 
tory were  not  duplicated,  his  case  was  nearly 
paralleled  by  other  men  of  his  century  in  the 
South.  Almost  without  exception  these  fa- 
voured children  of  good  breeding,  to  which  was 
joined  the  convenience  of  ample  affluence,  mani- 
fested an  elegant  taste  and  an  active  personal 
interest  in  the  building  of  their  homes  and  it 
is  to  this  interest  on  their  part  that  we  of  to-day 
are  indebted  for  much  of  what  is  best  in  the 
execution  of  American  Georgian  work.  Not  a 
few  of  the  Southern  planters  were  themselves 
competent  architects  but,  as  representatives 
of  their  class  in  this  particular,  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  mention  two  of  them,  persons  no  less 
illustrious  than  George  Washington  and  Thomas 
Jefferson.  Washington  always  manifested  a 
deep  interest  in  architecture,  is  believed  to  have 
designed  Pohick  Church,  had  some  hand  in  the 
plans  of  Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  supervised 


160   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

building  on  his  own  estates,  exercised  a  direct- 
ing influence  over  the  destinies  of  the  public 
buildings  planned  or  begun  during  his  lifetime 
in  the  Federal  City  and  left  an  example  of  his 
capacity  as  a  decorative  designer  in  the  plastic 
ornaments  of  the  famous  mantel  at  Kenmore. 
How  deeply  Jefferson  was  concerned  with  archi- 
tectural matters,  both  public  and  private,  and 
how  he  maintained  a  lifelong  interest  in  every- 
thing pertaining  thereto,  an  interest  that  began 
in  early  youth  and  became  stronger  with  advanc- 
ing years,  we  well  know.  Pressure  of  onerous 
public  duties  never  abated  his  desire  for  archi- 
tectural betterment  throughout  the  country  nor 
diverted  him  from  using  all  possible  efforts  to 
secure  the  realisation  of  ideals.  "Architec- 
ture," he  once  wrote,  "is  worth  great  attention 
—  the  most  important  of  the  arts,  since  it  shows 
so  much."  At  another  time  he  penned  the 
following :  —  "To  give  buildings  symmetry  and 
taste  would  not  increase  their  cost,  it  would  only 
change  the  arrangement  of  the  materials,  form 
and  combination  of  members.  This  would  cost 
less  than  the  burden  of  ornament  with  which 
these  public  buildings  are  often  charged.  But 
the  very  first  principles  of  the  art  are  unknown." 
These  views  might  find  some  application  not 
inappropriate  at  the  present  day.  Jefferson 
did  not  confine  his  architectural  interests  to 
matters  theoretical  nor  to  designing.     He  was 


w  g 


a  ji 


w  5 


SHIRLEY,    JAMES    RIVER,    VA. 
Southern    Georgfan,   second   phase. 


WESTOVER,    JAMES    RIVER,    VA. 
Southern    Georgia,    first    phase. 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH    161 

often  to  be  found  in  the  actual  role  of  work- 
man. When  he  began  the  operations  at  Monti- 
cello,  about  1770,  that  left  it  in  its  present  form, 
he  not  only  planned  and  supervised  the  work, 
"but  was  personally  responsible  for  such  prac- 
tical phases  as  heating,  ventilation,  plumbing 
and  drainage.  He  planned  the  farm  buildings 
and  the  laying  out  of  all  the  roads  and  bridle 
paths  about  the  place.  In  addition,  he  trained 
all  his  own  workmen  and  even  made  experts 
of  several  of  his  slaves,  whom  he  later  set  free 
to  earn  their  living  at  the  trades  he  had  taught 
them." 

In  the  South,  as  in  New  England  and  the 
Middle  Colonies,  we  may  without  much  diffi- 
culty discern  three  phases  of  the  Georgian  modes 
of  expression,  all  of  them  with  characteristics 
more  or  less  clearly  defined.  In  view  of  the 
extended  analysis  of  those  phases  made  in  the 
chapter  devoted  to  the  Georgian  period  in 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  it  will 
be  unnecessary  to  dwell  at  length  upon  the  cor- 
responding characteristics  to  be  found  in  the 
domestic  architecture  of  the  South,  a  course 
that  would  merely  involve  bootless  repetition. 
As  occasion  arises,  therefore,  in  considering 
typical  examples  of  Southern  building,  atten- 
tion will  be  directed  chiefly  to  points  of  diver- 
gence and  local  peculiarities  and  modifications. 
The  practices  of  building  kitchens  and  offices  in 


162   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

structures  apart  from  the  body  of  the  house; 
of  planning  bedchambers  on  the  ground  floor 
and  of  making  the  hall  of  ample  enough  pro- 
portions to  be  used  as  a  living-room,  when  so 
desired,  have  already  been  adverted  to  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Southern  Colonial  style.  All 
three  practices  were  developed  during  the  seven- 
teenth century  and  by  practical  usage  proved 
their  excellence  so  that  they  were  retained  when 
a  new  and  more  elegant  architectural  mode 
supplanted  the  fashion  of  an  earlier  day. 

In  several  instances,  such  as  Tuckahoe,  erected 
about  1707,  Belvoir  in  Anne  Arundel  County, 
Maryland,  built  about  the  same  date,  and 
Gunston  Hall,  finished  after  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  we  may  trace  a  transitional 
form,  retained  from  seventeenth  century  prece- 
dents. The  general  contour  of  these  houses 
exhibits  strong  affinities  with  the  truly  Southern 
Colonial  type  of  dwelling  but  in  the  manner  of 
execution  and  the  employment  of  ornamental 
detail  we  are  on  the  Georgian  side  of  the 
boundary. 

For  the  first  Georgian  phase,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  study  such  houses  as  Carter's  Grove 
on  the  James  River,  built  about  1737,  and 
Westover,  finished  several  years  prior  to  that 
date.  In  both  places  we  find  many  of  the 
characteristics  that  we  should  be  disposed  to 
look  for  after  a  careful  perusal  of  the  notes  on 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH    163 

the  earliest  type  of  Georgian  houses  given  in 
Chapter  VIII.  In  general  contour  and  the 
treatment  of  the  roof,  Carter's  Grove  is  not 
unlike  Stenton.  In  addition,  however,  to  the 
particulars  alluded  to  in  Chapter  VIII,  we  find 
at  Carter's  Grove  the  exceptionally  broad  hall- 
way peculiar  to  the  South,  twenty-eight  feet 
wide.  It  is  to  be  noted  also  that  there  and  at 
other  places,  too,  in  the  South,  are  to  be  seen 
richly  wrought  baluster  spindles,  spiral  turned 
or  carved,  just  as  in  some  of  the  finer  houses  in 
New  England.  In  this  connexion  it  is  important 
to  remember  that  at  Tuckahoe,  in  addition  to 
the  spiral  turned  balusters,  there  is  some  unusu- 
ally fine  carving  on  the  staircase  executed  in  a 
more  expansive  and  flowing  style  than  the  carv- 
ing of  the  middle  or  end  of  the  century.  The 
rich  pilasters  and  pediment  of  the  doorway  at 
Westover  also  show  kinship  to  an  earlier  tradi- 
tion just  as  do  some  of  the  adornments  of  con- 
temporary doorways  in  New  England. 

Tulip  Hill  at  West  River,  Anne  Arundel 
County,  Maryland,  offers  an  excellent  example 
of  the  Southern  Georgian  house  erected  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  point 
of  detail  it  has  the  usual  earmarks  of  the  date  of 
its  erection  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  revert  to. 
Several  other  points,  however,  are  to  be  noted. 
Decorative  panels  in  relief  at  each  side  of  the 
circular  window  in  the  front  gable  and  a  decora- 


164   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

tive  device  in  the  pediment  of  the  portico  are 
touches  of  embellishment  of  a  kind  not  fre- 
quently found  in  the  North  and  they  have  their 
counterpart  in  many  similar  ornaments  to  be 
found  on  other  Southern  houses  built  about  this 
period.  It  is  to  be  noted,  too,  that  the  portico 
or  porch  is  beginning  to  have  a  recognised 
architectural  place  in  the  South.  A  few  years 
later  it  assumed  more  imposing  proportions  in 
the  shape  of  the  great  white  pillars,  two  storeys 
in  height,  supporting  a  massive  pediment  carried 
forward  as  an  integral  part  of  the  roof.  While 
speaking  of  porches  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  credit  is  due  the  South  Carolina  type  of 
Georgian  house  for  the  double-decked  or  two 
storey  porch  so  frequently  met  with  in  that 
state. 

The  necessity  or  desirability  of  developing 
the  porch  feature  may  have  hastened  the  wel- 
come of  the  Classic  Revival  in  the  South  be- 
cause of  the  opportunity  it  gave  of  construct- 
ing that  architectural  adjunct  in  an  imposing 
and  thoroughly  well-mannered  and  congruous 
method.  At  all  events,  the  Classic  Revival 
seems  to  have  met  with  earlier  favour  in  the 
South  than  elsewhere  and  its  vogue  was  practi- 
cally synchronous  with  the  third  or  Adam  type 
of  Georgian  expression.  As  a  case  in  point, 
there  is  Monticello  but  it  should  be  observed 
that  Jefferson's  conception  of  the  Classic  Re- 


ANDALUSIA  ON  THE  DELAWARE,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Classic   Revival. 


1794-1832. 


OLD     MARITIME     EXCHANGE, 
Classic   Revival. 


PHILADELPHIA. 


GEORGIAN  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  SOUTH    165 

vival  mode,  if  Monticello  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
specimen  of  Classic  Revival  work,  had  a  dignity, 
honesty  and  sincerity  about  it  that  was  after- 
wards often  lost  sight  of  when  employed  by 
other  men. 

One  cannot  quit  the  task  of  reviewing  the 
Georgian  architecture  of  the  South  without 
feeling  deeply  impressed  with  the  great  dignity 
and  breadth  manifested  in  all  its  forms.  It  was 
a  sincere  expression  of  the  architectural  needs 
of  an  important  social  condition  and  while  it 
was  founded  on  time-honoured  precedent,  at 
the  same  time  its  application  was  thoroughly 
American  and  full  of  vitality. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    POST-COLONIAL    PERIOD    AND    THE    CLASSIC 
REVIVAL 

AFTER  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary- 
War  came  a  period  of  comparatively 
rapid  evolution  in  architecture.  This 
phase  of  post-Colonial  evolution  reached  its 
culminating  point  in  the  signal  successes  and 
almost  ludicrous  failures  of  the  Greek  or  Classic 
Revival,  successes  and  failures  that  occurred 
simultaneously,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  though 
caused  by  the  same  influences,  and  are  still  to 
be  seen  in  the  older  cities  of  our  land,  often- 
times standing  in  close  proximity. 

Historically  considered,  this  process  of  swift 
evolution  is  attributable  to  several  causes  of 
which  the  chief  were  the  rapidly  increasing 
affluence  and  prosperity  of  the  new  republic  and 
the  general  approval  with  which  French  influ- 
ences and  fashions  were  regarded.  In  the  era 
of  vigorous  mercantile  and  industrial  reaction 
after  the  stress  and  strain  of  a  long  and  exhaust- 
ing war,  it  was  but  natural  that  not  only  mer- 
chants, manufacturers  and  other  men  of  sub- 

166 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  167 

stance,  but  also  whole  communities  as  well, 
should  seek  to  express  in  structures  domestic 
and  public  the  proper  pride  and  confidence  of 
their  new-found  political  importance  and  free- 
dom. New  social  and  civic  demands  were  to  be 
met  and  architecture  was  quick  to  reflect  the 
spirit  of  growth  and  progress.  In  a  measure, 
too,  there  were  the  ravages  of  shot,  shell  and 
fire  and  the  decay  incident  to  a  long  financial 
depression  to  be  repaired.  With  an  access  of 
material  prosperity  came  also  an  access  of 
economic  elegancies  and  men  of  means  and 
position  demanded  that  their  domestic  surround- 
ings should  measure  up  to  new  standards  of 
luxury.  When  they  found  themselves  in  cir- 
cumstances to  build  anew,  as  they  not  infre- 
quently did,  their  houses,  while  usually  fol- 
lowing much  the  old  arrangement  of  plan  and 
number  of  rooms,  displayed  new  influences  of 
ornamental  detail  and  the  alteration  or  addition 
of  features  in  conformity  to  the  new  mode. 
Furthermore  —  and  this  was  by  no  means  the 
least  factor  affecting  the  new  conditions  —  in 
the  general  social  overturn,  wrought  by  the 
event  of  war,  the  Loyalists,  who  represented  a 
large  portion  of  the  wealth  and  refinement  of  the 
Colonial  period,  had  been  ruined,  dispossessed 
of  their  estates,  driven  from  the  country  or  had 
withdrawn  to  England  or  some  of  the  other 
Colonies  and  their  places  had  oftentimes  been 


168   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

taken  by  persons  who  had  hitherto  held  a 
humbler  state  of  life.  These  men  of  new  wealth 
and  standing,  who  owed  their  advancement  to 
their  warm  espousal  of  the  American  cause, 
built  themselves  houses  to  accord  with  their 
recently  acquired  rank  and  sought  by  the  fine- 
ness of  their  dwellings,  as  is  the  wont  of  parvenus, 
to  make  up  for  lack  of  birth  and  breeding.  It 
was  but  natural,  too,  in  all  these  cases  just  men- 
tioned, that  popular  taste  should  incline  toward 
an  architectural  vogue  that  was  French  in  its 
immediate  inspiration  rather  than  toward  any 
style  whose  precedents  were  to  be  found  in  the 
Mother  Country  whose  recent  political  domina- 
tion was  still  held  in  bitter  remembrance. 

Architecturally  considered,  this  evolution  that 
culminated  in  the  full  fruition  of  the  Classic 
Revival  shows  three  influences  that  are  to  be 
reckoned  in  any  attempt  at  its  analysis.  In  the 
first  place,  there  was  the  Adam  phase  of  the 
Georgian  mode  which  had  begun  to  find  pro- 
nounced expression  in  the  American  Colonies 
from  about  1770  onward.  The  greater  refine- 
ments of  this  type,  as  analysed  in  preceding 
chapters,  were  strongly  in  evidence  up  to  1800 
or  shortly  afterward  and  their  Adam  prove- 
nance was  clearly  distinguishable.  In  the  second 
place,  there  were  the  carpenter-designed  and 
built  houses  of  plainly  defined  Georgian  ances- 
try.    During  the  eighteenth  century,  the  public 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  169 

mind  had  become  so  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  Georgian  spirit  of  architectural  classicism, 
tempered  and  modified,  to  be  sure,  by  convey- 
ance through  a  British  medium,  but  classicism 
all  the  same,  that  even  the  most  unpretentious 
little  houses  gave  evidence  of  the  prevailing 
influence  in  one  form  or  another.  It  might 
be  a  house  door  with  pilasters  and  pediment 
or  it  might  be  a  mantel.  The  pilasters  flanking 
the  doorway  might  have  lost  all  traces  of  near 
kinship  to  any  of  the  classic  orders,  so  far  as 
their  details  were  concerned,  and  so  might  the 
pediment  also,  but  the  mere  fact  that  they  were 
there  showed  plainly  the  source  whence  they 
were  derived.  These  carpenter-designed-and- 
built  houses  of  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury may  be  regarded  as  a  residuum  of  the 
architectural  spirit  of  the  epoch.  Last  of  all, 
there  was  the  pure  classic  influence,  the  cir- 
cumstances of  whose  transplanting  to  America 
we  shall  examine  in  detail. 

Both  the  architecture  of  the  Georgian  period 
and  the  architecture  of  the  Classic  Revival  were 
essentially  classic  in  spirit  but  there  was  a  vast 
difference  between  their  several  manifestations 
of  classicality  and  it  is  most  important  that  we 
should  grasp  that  fundamental  difference.  The 
classicism  of  Georgian  architecture  was  free 
in  its  spirit  and  interpretation  and  was  elastic 
in  its  adaptability  to  the  requirements  of  domes- 


170   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

tic  or  public  edifices.  The  architects  who  ap- 
plied it  were  blessed  with  common  sense  and 
while  they  incorporated  a  distinct  element  of 
formal  order  in  their  work,  they  were  not  tram- 
melled by  so  narrow  a  conventionalism  that 
they  feared  to  make  such  adaptations  as  their 
own  original  genius  prompted,  provided  they 
were  consistent  with  the  source  of  general 
inspiration.  In  other  words,  the  classicism 
of  Georgian  architecture  was  classicism  human- 
ised and  rationalised  by  transmission  through 
the  channels  of  the  Renaissance  or  the  labours 
of  such  discriminating  students  of  antiquity 
as  the  Brothers  Adam.  It  was  elastic  and 
suited  alike  to  public  edifices  and  abodes  of 
both  high  and  low  degree.  It  was  also  direct 
and  simple  and  had  the  dignity  and  vitality 
that  art  unaffected  and  ingenuous  always  shows. 
For  this  very  reason  it  was  so  convincing  and 
so  long  retained  its  hold  upon  popular  taste. 

The  classicism  of  the  Classic  Revival,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  essentially  and  unalter- 
ably rigid  in  its  adherence  to  the  forms  of  an- 
tiquity and  the  archaeological  manner  of  apply- 
ing those  forms.  It  was  not  an  adaptation,  it 
was,  in  very  truth,  a  revival  of  the  modes  of 
two  thousand  years  ago,  a  gigantic  exhibition 
of  architectural  archaeology.  The  strength  of 
Georgian  architecture  lay  in  the  freedom  and 
elasticity  of  its  classicism  and  its  ready  flexi- 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  171 

bility  to  adaptation.  The  weakness  of  the 
architecture  of  the  Classic  Revival  was  in  its 
rigidity  and  inflexible  resistance  to  efforts  to 
adapt  it  to  varied  modern  requirements.  In 
the  South,  it  is  true,  it  showed  a  few  traces  of 
freer  interpretation,  perhaps  because  in  some 
cases  the  artisans  were  incapable  of  rendering 
the  accurate  reproductions  executed  by  better 
skilled  Northern  mechanics  but,  even  with  this 
slight  allowance,  the  stamp  of  rigidity  remained 
indelible. 

Despite  a  degree  of  stiffness  and  pedantry, 
however,  the  architecture  of  the  Classic  Revival, 
in  its  more  felicitous  manifestations,  displayed 
not  a  little  real  excellence,  stateliness  and  grace. 
Many  truly  important  structures  were  built 
during  the  period  of  classic  ascendancy  and  to- 
day, after  years  of  vicissitude  in  popular  taste, 
their  charm  of  grace  and  quiet  dignity  is  still 
fresh  and  enduring  and  constantly  reminds  us 
of  the  courtliness  of  the  generation  that  wisely 
planned  and  achieved  them.  In  its  less  regu- 
lated forms,  on  the  contrary,  probably  due  to 
the  ambitious  contractor  rather  than  to  even 
an  inferior  architect,  the  architecture  of  the 
Classic  Revival  was  often  unsuitable  in  its 
application,  uncomfortable  and  sometimes  ridic- 
ulous. In  the  fore  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, classicism  became  an  obsession  among 
builders  whose  sole  aim  seems  to  have  been  to 


172   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

transform  each  city  in  the  land  into  a  second 
Athens  or  Rome.  Everywhere  could  be  seen 
buildings  that,  if  not  planned  on  classic  lines 
in  their  interior  divisions  or  their  side  elevations, 
were  at  least  adorned  with  Greek  and  Roman 
orders.  This  church  or  bank  was  embellished 
with  a  portico  of  Corinthian  columns,  that  one 
across  the  street  had  a  corresponding  portico 
of  severest  Doric  character  while  another,  per- 
haps, around  the  corner  rejoiced  in  graceful 
Ionic  pillars  and,  doubtless,  just  beyond  was  a 
house  whose  owner  took  a  proper  pride  in  the 
impeccable  purity  of  his  Tuscan  piazza.  Some- 
times all  the  orders  got  inextricably  jumbled 
together  on  the  same  edifice  and  overrun  with 
a  veritable  forest  of  acanthus  leaves  and  anthe- 
mia,  and  yet  the  effect  was  not  wholly  bad,  how- 
ever much  it  might  distress  a  purist,  because  the 
builders,  in  the  exuberance  and  freshness  of 
their  vigour,  could  not  help  producing  some 
vitality,  although  they  were  trying  to  be  scru- 
pulously accurate  while  expressing  themselves 
in  a  medium  they  did  not  fully  understand. 
These  unseemly  mix-ups  of  architectural  botany 
or  botanical  architecture,  whichever  one  pre- 
fers to  call  it,  were  not  of  common  occurrence 
it  is  pleasant  to  record.  They  were  the  excep- 
tion, and  served  to  lend  point  to  the  really 
excellent  and  creditable  things  that  were 
achieved  at  a  time  when  a  decorous  formality 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  173 

went  hand  in  hand  with  cultivated  taste  and 
not  a  little  vigour  of  thought. 

The  mutation  of  architectural  style  from  the 
Georgian  mode  to  that  of  the  Classic  Revival 
was  virtually  synchronous  and  correspondent 
with  the  sway  of  the  Empire  styles  in  furniture, 
the  decorative  arts  and  personal  attire.  The 
Classic  Revival  style  is  altogether  post-Colo- 
nial in  date  and  its  exotic  impetus  and  inspira- 
tion, derived  from  the  France  of  the  First 
Napoleon  and  grafted  upon  a  Georgian  stock, 
cannot  be  regarded  as  essentially  a  part  of  the 
logical  process  of  architectural  evolution  which 
had  hitherto  progressed  by  gradual  and,  for 
the  most  part,  well  nigh  imperceptible  steps 
from  one  traditional  form  to  another. 

The  vigorous  classicism  of  the  Georgian 
period,  thanks  to  its  filtration  through  Renais- 
sance channels,  was  elastic  and  appropriate  in 
its  application.  Even  the  elegancies  and  refine- 
ments of  the  Adam  school  of  Georgian  expres- 
sion, though  drawn  direct  from  the  store  of 
classic  antiquity,  were  judiciously  adapted  to 
current  needs  by  masters  of  the  art  of  discrim- 
ination. But  the  type  of  classicism  exemplified 
in  the  Classic  Revival  was  deliberately  trans- 
planted bodily  and  de  novo  from  the  ancient 
world  by  Napoleonic  fiat,  in  like  manner  with 
the  designs  for  furniture  and  the  patterns  to 
dominate  the  products  of  the  other  decorative 


174   THE  ARCHITECTURE  ^OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

arts.  The  transplanters  sometimes  showed  a 
predilection  for  heavy  Roman  forms  rather  than 
for  the  delicacy  of  Greek  refinements,  and  the 
transplanting  was  occasionally  done  in  a  clumsy 
way  with  little  apparent  regard  for  fitness  or 
the  principles  of  sane  adaptation.  With  all 
the  wealth  of  antiquity  to  draw  from,  it  would 
have  been  strange  indeed  if  the  fautors  of  re- 
vived classicism  had  not  produced  much  that 
was  both  exceedingly  worthy  and  beautiful. 
As  pointed  out  before,  whatever  defect  or  weak- 
ness characterised  the  expression  of  the  Classic 
Revival  style,  viewed  in  the  aggregate,  is  not 
to  be  attributed  to  the  forms  employed  but  to 
the  manner  in  which  those  forms  were  sometimes 
misapplied  and  forced  into  uses  or  combina- 
tions to  which  they  were  ill  suited. 

This  neo-classic  inspiration  of  Napoleonic 
French  contrivance  found  favour  in  America, 
thanks  to  the  strong  Francophile  sentiment 
prevailing  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth, 
which  even  dictated  the  colour  and  design  of 
ladies'  gowns  and  their  method  of  coiffure. 
In  the  able  hands  of  such  men  as  Charles  Bul- 
finch,  the  neo-classic  manifestation  well  merited 
all  the  popular  approval  accorded  it.  It  is 
scarcely  fair,  however,  to  put  Bulfinch  forth,  at 
least  in  his  earlier  period,  as  a  typical  exponent 
of  Classic  Revival  architecture.     He  was,  it  is 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  175 

true,  imbued  with  the  new  influences  but  he  had 
too  much  creative  instinct  and  too  much  sense 
of  fitness  ever  to  descend  to  mere  copying  or 
wholesale  borrowing.  Besides,  he  was,  one 
might  say,  by  date  of  birth  and  training,  a  prod- 
uct of  the  Adam  age  and,  by  native  bias,  in 
full  sympathy  with  its  delicate  and  refined 
methods  of  expression.  Indeed,  we  may  prop- 
erly regard  Bulfinch  as  marking  the  transition 
from  the  Adam  or  last  phase  of  Georgian  archi- 
tecture to  the  modes  of  the  Classic  Revival  for 
he  combined  in  his  work  many  of  the  best  fea- 
tures of  both.  He  knew  how  and  when  to  employ 
Adam  delicacy  and  refinement  of  detail  or  Adam 
exuberance  of  embellishment  without  falling 
into  a  surfeit  of  finicky  and  saccharine  over-elab- 
oration; he  knew  also  when  and  where  to  use 
classic  boldness  and  vigour  and  even  classic 
austerity  without  sinking  from  classic  grace 
into  any  of  the  heavy  Roman  forms  of  brutal 
vulgarity  and  military  bombast  that  sometimes 
marred  the  work  of  later  exponents  of  Classic 
Revival  inspiration. 

Bulfinch  was  possessed  of  consummate  good 
taste,  a  fine  sense  of  proportion  and  a  genius  for 
judicious  adaptation.  He  was  educated  while 
the  Adam  influence  was  at  its  height,  had  broad- 
ened his  field  by  observation  and  foreign  travel 
and  began  to  practise  just  before  the  first  fresh 
impetus  of  direct  classicism  was  launched.     It 


176   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

was,  therefore,  quite  natural  that,  with  his 
trained  perception  and  happy  faculty  of  selec- 
tion and  combination,  he  should  have  picked 
out  the  best  in  each  school,  and  peculiarly 
appropriate  that  his  work  should  exemplify 
the  transitional  stage  by  which  one  was  merged 
into  the  other  for,  in  the  evolutionary  process, 
already  alluded  to,  the  purest  form  of  neo- 
classic  design  found  its  analogue  in  the  earlier 
Adam  practice. 

Along  with  Bulfinch,  as  a  representative  of 
the  transition  stage,  must  be  classed  Samuel 
Mclntire,  of  Salem,  whose  work  both  public 
and  domestic  has  always  been  justly  esteemed. 
He,  too,  retained  a  large  share  of  Adam  elegance 
and  wealth  of  detail  which  he  successfully  in- 
corporated with  motifs  and  methods  of  treat- 
ment inspired  by  the  more  recent  impetus  of 
classicism.  To  Mclntire's  influence  may  be 
attributed  much  of  the  slender  delicacy  of  pro- 
portion and  the  attenuation  of  pillars  and  pilas- 
ters —  this  attenuation  had  a  counterpart  in 
some  of  the  contemporary  New  York  Dutch 
design  —  so  noticeable  in  a  great  deal  of  New 
England  architecture  of  this  period.  He  elim- 
inated all  grossness  and  pared  down  the  dimen- 
sions of  columns  while  he  drew  out  their  length 
to  a  degree  that  had  no  precedent  in  ancient 
practice  and  would  have  shocked  the  French 
purists  under  whose  auspices  the  new  move- 


c 
u  7; 


Photograph  by  C.  V.  linck.  from  I'nderwood  &  Underwood, 
THE    CAPITOL    AT    WASHINGTON. 
Classic    Revival. 


GIRARD    COLLEGE,    PHILADELPHIA. 
Classic   Revival. 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  177 

ment  had  been  inaugurated.  Despite  these 
departures  from  architectural  and  archaeological 
orthodoxy,  however,  Mclntire's  work  is  replete 
with  exquisite  charm  and  is  justified  by  apply- 
ing to  it  the  touchstone  of  good  taste. 

Latrobe,  McComb,  in  his  later  work,  L'En- 
fant,  Hoban,  Dr.  Thornton,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Strickland  and  other  noted  architects  of  the 
last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the 
fore  part  of  the  nineteenth  followed  classic 
precedent  somewhat  more  closely  in  the  prac- 
tice of  their  profession  and  may,  therefore,  be 
considered  the  most  faithful  and  typical  expo- 
nents of  Classic  Revival  principles.  Much  of 
their  work  is  noble  in  conception  and  peculiarly 
suited  to  the  monumental  character  of  the 
buildings   they    designed. 

The  influence  of  the  Classic  Revival  was  to 
be  noted  earliest  in  public  edifices  such  as  the 
Boston  State  House  on  Beacon  Hill,  the  New 
Theatre  or  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in 
Philadelphia  or,  most  of  all,  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington  in  the  design,  erection  and  restora- 
tion or  rebuilding  of  which  so  many  of  the  most 
eminent  architects  of  the  day  had  a  share. 
There  the  classic  orders  were  reproduced  with 
faithful  accuracy  in  combinations  that  displayed 
their  chaste  beauty  and  noble  proportions  in 
the  most  dignified  and  impressive  manner. 
Capitals  of  impeccable  exactitude  and  fidelity 


178  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

to  their  prototypes,  pediments  and  entablatures 
of  due  proportion,  triglyphs,  mutules,  modillion 
brackets,  acanthus  leaves,  egg  and  dart  mould- 
ings, dentils,  anthemia  and  all  the  other  struc- 
tural and  ornamental  features  characteristic 
of  either  Greek  or  Roman  architecture  became 
familiar  objects  to  the  public  gaze  and  exercised 
their  subtle  but  powerful  agency  in  the  educa- 
tion of  a  disciplined  and  elegant  sense  of  archi- 
tectural propriety. 

The  architecture  of  the  Classic  Revival  was 
undoubtedly  at  its  best  in  public  edifices  or  in 
large  and  imposing  mansions  which  afforded 
sufficient  opportunity  to  display  its  ample  char- 
acteristics. Such  structures,  moreover,  did  not 
require  any  great  stretch  of  ingenuity  in  making 
adaptations.  While  columns  might  have  to 
be  lengthened  out  or  features  foreign  to  classic 
conception  added,  the  task  of  accommodation 
rarely  offered  serious  difficulties  to  be  overcome. 
In  the  hands  of  such  men  as  Bulfinch  or  Mcln- 
tire,  at  the  outset,  or  of  Latrobe,  Hoban,  Strick- 
land and  their  various  able  contemporaries,  the 
Classic  Revival  gave  us  many  truly  admirable 
structures  instinct  with  dignity  and  grace.  In 
the  hands  of  the  too  confident  and  insufficiently 
educated  mechanic  who  ventured  to  try  his 
hand  at  designing,  it  was  a  very  different  thing 
indeed  and  its  remaining  examples  of  this  inferior 
type  can  scarcely  be  viewed  with  pleasure. 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  179 

If  one  may  trace  an  analogy  between  the 
Adam  mode  and  the  best  manifestations  of  the 
Classic  Revival  with  its  stately  structures  full 
of  breadth,  dignity  and  repose,  so  may  one  also 
trace  with  ease  an  analogy  between  the  car- 
penter -  designed  -  and  -  built  houses  of  the  end 
of  the  Georgian  period  and  much  of  the  insig- 
nificant domestic  work  of  the  Classic  Revival. 
In  other  words,  the  elegant  Adam  creations 
bore  virtually  the  same  relation  to  the  contem- 
porary carpenter-designed  houses  as  did  the 
larger  and  serenely  chaste  compositions  of  the 
Classic  Revival  to  the  small  and  inexpensive 
attempts  on  the  part  of  ambitious  builders  to 
apply  the  same  style  to  little,  cramped  struc- 
tures for  which  it  was  manifestly  unfit.  There 
was  this  difference,  however.  The  carpenter- 
architects  of  the  end  of  the  Georgian  period 
were  far  superior  in  discrimination  and  taste 
to  their  successors,  who  tried  to  make  up  for 
their  lack  of  knowledge  by  ill-judged  essays 
that  succeeded  only  in  being  ridiculous.  Their 
tiny,  temple-fronted  houses  were  not  domestic 
and  were  as  unreal  and  architecturally  unsatis- 
fying as  stage  settings  viewed  from  the  rear. 
They  were  bombastic  and  pompous  —  one  feels 
almost  like  saying  "pompious"  —  and  displayed 
no  real  merit  or  refinement  to  back  up  their 
preposterous  pretensions  to  a  dignity  and  state 
not  at  all  in  keeping  with  their  true  purpose. 


180   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

The  so-called  "carpenters'  classic"  mode,  which 
was  really  a  chastened  and  restrained  form  of 
the  debased  Classic  Revival  style,  was  infinitely 
preferable  because  it  was  simple  and  did  not 
pretend  to  be  something  it  was  not. 

Among  the  thoroughly  striking  and  important 
buildings  erected  in  this  era  that  ought  to  be 
mentioned,  besides  those  already  referred  to,  are 
the  Sub-Treasury  in  New  York,  Girard  College 
in  Philadelphia,  the  Philadelphia  Custom  House, 
and  the  Cathedral  in  Baltimore.  These  are 
typical  buildings  and,  for  that  reason,  worthy 
of  being  kept  in  mind,  but  the  list  of  creditable 
examples  might  be  added  to  almost  indefinitely. 

As  a  direct  result  of  the  Classic  Revival  influ- 
ence there  was  a  certain  amount  of  modest 
and  agreeable  adaptation  which  created  a  pleas- 
ant domestic  episode  in  the  annals  of  American 
architecture.  Examples  of  this  modified  classic 
school  are  unpretentious  and,  for  the  reason 
that  they  mark  no  ambitious  flights,  commend- 
able in  their  own  field.  For  want  of  a  better 
name  we  have  been  accustomed  to  call  this 
architectural  species  "Carpenters'  Classic." 
Whatever  its  shortcomings  —  and  not  much 
can  be  expected  of  it  for  it  makes  no  pretence  — 
it  was  infinitely  better  than  much  that  fol- 
lowed it. 

In  contemplating  the  story  of  the  Classic 
Revival  one  can  find  much  to  be  thankful  for. 


THE  POST-COLONIAL  PERIOD  181 

Let  its  failures  be  what  they  may,  it  was  in 
large  measure  due  to  the  work  done  during  the 
period  of  its  ascendancy  that  we  owe  a  certain 
tradition  and  precedent  in  public  work  that  has 
wrought  for  good  and  is  still  working  in  our  own 
day. 


CHAPTER  XI 

PUBLIC      BUILDINGS      OF      THE      COLONIAL      AND 
POST-COLONIAL   PERIODS 

THE  architecture  of  Colonial  America,  ex- 
clusive of  the  churches,  was  almost  alto- 
gether domestic  in  its  scope  and  yielded 
but  comparatively  few  examples  of  impressive 
public  edifices  in  proportion  to  the  area  of 
the  territory  embraced.  There  were,  however, 
enough  secular  public  buildings  scattered 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Colonies 
to  make  a  striking  representation  when  grouped 
together  and  what  the  aggregate  collection  of 
such  structures  lacked  in  point  of  numbers 
was  amply  made  up  in  point  of  individual  excel- 
lence or  historic  interest,  or  both,  on  the  part  of 
the  several  units.  In  the  space  of  one  chapter 
it  would  be  manifestly  impossible  to  discuss 
fully  all  the  secular  public  buildings  of  the  Colo- 
nies but  enough  of  them  can  be  considered  to 
convey  a  comprehensive  idea  of  the  civic  archi- 
tectural setting  of  Colonial  days. 
If  the  houses  and  churches  of  the  Colonial 

182 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  183 

period  in  America  reflect  the  social  and  religious 
life  of  our  forefathers,  no  less  truly  do  the  public 
buildings  reflect  the  civic  and  political  side  of 
their  existence.  To  be  sure,  the  public  build- 
ings are  not  without  their  interest  and  power 
to  shed  light  on  the  social  and  economic  condi- 
tions, but  it  is  especially  in  their  civic  and  po- 
litical capacity  that  their  appeal  to  us  is  strong- 
est. Then,  too,  we  may  truly  say  that  they 
form  much  of  the  setting  for  the  dramatic  side 
of  our  history  and,  therefore,  the  picturesque 
association  is  potent.  With  the  State  House 
in  Philadelphia  (Independence  Hall,  as  it  has 
been  called  in  later  years),  we  cannot  fail  to 
associate  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  framing  of  our  national  constitution,  eleven 
years  afterward.  Neither  can  we  fail  to  asso- 
ciate with  Faneuil  Hall  or  the  Old  State  House 
in  Boston  the  stirring  events  that  preceded  the 
outbreak  of  the  War  for  Independence. 

Of  all  the  public  buildings  in  the  Colonies, 
the  State  House  in  Philadelphia,  as  the  birth- 
place of  our  national  existence,  claims  the  place 
of  first  attention  and  highest  honour  in  the 
esteem  of  all  loyal  Americans.  Architecturally 
speaking,  all  the  public  buildings  chosen  for 
consideration  in  this  chapter  represent  more  or 
less  faithfully  the  local  characteristics  of  the 
places  in  which  they  were  built.  We  naturally 
expect,  therefore,  to  find  in  the  State  House 


184   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

at  Philadelphia  an  example  of  the  Middle  Colo- 
nies Georgian  at  its  best,  nor  are  we  disappointed. 
From  an  architectural  point  of  view,  the  State 
House  was  a  notable  and  imposing  structure 
when  it  was  erected  in  1733  and,  from  the  same 
point  of  view,  it  would  be  equally  notable  and 
imposing  had  it  been  built  only  yesterday.  The 
scale  is  so  broad  and  impressive  that  it  dwarfs 
other  buildings  of  far  greater  size  and  loftier 
structure  in  the  vicinity.  In  this  respect  it  is 
comparable  to  a  small  person  of  large  presence 
and  much  dignity,  the  scant  measure  of  whose 
inches  is  not  accounted  in  the  impression  created 
among  his  fellows.  We  have  all  seen  such. 
Though  the  actual  area  covered  by  the  State 
House  is  inconsiderable  —  it  is  only  one  hundred 
feet  long  by  forty-four  feet  in  depth,  with  a 
tower,  on  the  south  side  or  rear,  measuring 
thirty-two  feet  by  thirty-four  —  there  is  such 
amplitude  of  proportion  in  the  rooms,  in  the 
size  of  all  the  central  features  and  in  the  detail 
of  ornamentation,  that  the  visitor  instinctively 
feels  himself  in  one  of  the  great  buildings  of  the 
country,  altogether  irrespective  of  the  brave 
memories  by  which  its  walls  are  hallowed. 

Seen  from  without,  the  State  House  is  a  most 
satisfying  piece  of  Georgian  work.  The  north 
front,  pierced  by  a  single  door  and  eight  broad 
windows  on  the  lower  floor  and  an  unbroken 
range  of  nine  windows  on  the  upper,  has  a  con- 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  185 

vincing  charm  of  combined  dignity  and  sim- 
plicity. The  doorway  is  severely  plain  and  of 
proportions  characteristic  of  the  date  at  which 
the  edifice  was  built.  The  wide  muntins  of  the 
small  paned  windows,  the  well  spaced  string 
courses,  and  the  oblong  panels  of  blue  marble 
beneath  the  windows  of  the  upper  floor,  diversify 
the  surface  and  impart  a  grace  that  quite  pre- 
vents the  impression  of  dumpy  stodginess  that 
less  carefully  managed  Georgian  facades  some- 
times give.  A  white  balustrade,  running  the 
length  of  the  building  and  set  where  the  pitch 
of  the  roof  breaks  into  a  much  flattened  gam- 
brel  to  form  a  deck,  affords  an  additional  note  of 
grace  and  lightness  comporting  well  with  the 
triple  chimneys  with  arch-joined  tops  at  each 
gable  end. 

The  contrast  between  the  deep  red  brick- 
work of  the  tower,  carried  one  stage  above  the 
cornice  of  the  body  of  the  hall,  and  the  white 
wooden  superstructure  for  the  clock,  sur- 
mounted by  an  open  cupola  over  the  bell,  is 
striking  and  particularly  effective  viewed  from 
the  south  on  a  sunny  morning  in  winter  or  early 
spring,  when  everything  is  fretted  with  a  laced 
pattern  from  the  bare  branches  of  the  surround- 
ing trees.  In  the  second  stage  of  the  south  side 
of  the  tower,  immediately  above  the  door,  is 
a  Palladian  window  that  has  always  compelled 
admiration.     The  crushed  capitals  of  the  pilas- 


186  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ters  and  dividing  pillars,  though  perhaps  rude 
in  line  and  execution,  are  delightfully  suggestive 
of  the  weight  and  solidity  of  the  tower  above 
them.  Grotesque  heads  and  faces  as  ornaments 
for  keystones  were  not  very  extensively  used 
in  our  Colonial  Georgian  architecture,  but  over 
the  windows  on  three  sides  of  the  uppermost 
brick  stage  of  the  tower  are  faces  that  for  pathos 
of  expression  can  quite  match  those  on  the  tower 
of  Christ  Church  that  lift  their  seemingly  sight- 
less eyes  alike  to  sun  and  snow  and  blinding 
rain.  Though  noticed  by  few  among  the  thou- 
sands that  daily  pass  by,  they  are  worthy  of 
attention.  Masques  or  grotesque  heads  are 
also  used  in  one  or  two  other  places,  such  as  the 
over-door  carving  in  the  interior  of  the  building. 

The  warm  tone  of  the  walls  is  especially 
pleasing.  Years  and  weather,  yes,  and  dirt, 
have  imparted  an  exceedingly  mellow  tinge  to 
the  hard  burned  brick  laid  in  courses  of  Flem- 
ish bond,  and  although  the  glazed  black  headers, 
found  in  so  many  old  houses,  are  of  rare  occur- 
rence, the  hue  of  the  Colonial  bricks  is  pecul- 
iarly rich.  Relieved  as  the  masonry  is  by 
trimmings  of  native  bluish  marble  and  pen- 
cilled by  weathered  mortar  joints,  the  walls  have 
a  wonderful  quality  of  texture  and  colour. 

Although  the  triple-arched  arcades  and  low, 
hip-roofed  buildings  on  either  side  of  the  State 
House  are  new,  they  are  restorations  and  con- 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  187 

form  to  the  provisions  of  the  original  plan.  That 
plan  called  for  such  structures,  and  they  were 
begun  several  years  subsequent  to  the  commence- 
ment of  work  on  the  main  portion  of  the  State 
House,  but  gave  place  at  a  later  date  to  the 
hideous  barracks,  devised  to  meet  the  exi- 
gencies of  public  business,  which  endured  till 
the  last  wave  of  restoration  happily  removed 
them. 

The  State  House  was  designed  to  accom- 
modate the  legislative  and  executive  branches 
of  the  Provincial  government.  The  great  east 
room,  to  the  left  of  the  door  on  entering,  was 
intended  for  the  use  of  the  Assembly.  In  this 
room  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
signed  and  in  this  room,  also,  eleven  years  later, 
the  Constitutional  Convention  sat  and  framed 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Whether 
the  west  room,  across  the  corridor,  and  commu- 
nicating with  it  by  three  large  open  arches, 
was  originally  meant  for  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  Province  is  uncertain,  but,  at  any  rate, 
it  was  in  time  appropriated  to  that  purpose. 
The  second  floor  has  a  long  gallery  running  the 
full  length  of  the  building  along  the  north 
side  facing  Chestnut  street,  and  this  apartment 
has  been  variously  designated  as  "The  Long 
Room,"  "The  Banqueting  Hall"  and  by  sundry 
other  titles.  Facing  the  south  are  two  smaller 
rooms,    separated    by    a    spacious   hallway   or 


188   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

lobby,  which  also  opens  into  the  Long  Room. 
One  of  these  lesser  rooms  seems  to  have  been 
intended  for  the  use  of  the  Governour's  Council. 

Although  the  date  of  the  building  of  the  State 
House  was  1733,  its  completion  was  not  accom- 
plished till  eight  years  later.  This  fact  prob- 
ably accounts  in  some  measure  for  the  affinities 
of  detail  in  the  interior  woodwork  with  the 
second  Georgian  type,  alluded  to  in  the  chapter 
on  Georgian  architecture  in  Philadelphia  and 
the  neighbourhood.  The  doorway  on  the  Chest- 
nut street  front,  both  by  its  proportions  and 
its  severe  simplicity,  belongs  rather  to  the 
first  type  of  Georgian  as  exemplified  by  Stenton, 
Hope  Lodge  and  Graeme  Park.  Inside  the 
building,  however,  we  find  the  egg  and  dart 
moulding,  modillion  brackets  carved  with  acan- 
thus leaves,  ornate  cornices  with  triglyphs, 
dentils  and  mutules,  fluted  pillars  and  pilasters 
with  ornate  Roman  capitals,  rosettes,  elabo- 
rately wrought  modillion  brackets  under  the 
treads  of  the  stair,  deeply  panelled  soffits  and 
jambs,  ornate  pediments  above  doors  and  over 
mantels,  and  all  the  other  details  characteristic 
of  the  second  Georgian  period.  In  addition  to 
being  exceedingly  elaborate,  the  woodwork  of 
the  State  House  is  executed  in  a  masterly 
manner  and  marked  both  by  boldness  and  an 
unusual  degree  of  grace. 

At  the  extreme  east   and   west   ends  of  the 


FANEUIL     HALT.,    BOSTON'.     1741 


INDEPENDENCE    ROOM,    STATK    HOUSE,     PHILADELPHIA. 


OLD    STATE    HOUSE,    BOSTON.     1728. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  189 

State  House  group,  the  two  buildings  project- 
ing farther  toward  the  street  than  the  rest,  are 
decent  in  appearance  but  quite  unpretentious. 
Of  exterior  architectural  embellishments,  such 
as  the  State  House  can  boast,  they  are  innocent, 
save  the  cupolas,  which  are  good.  Inside,  the 
woodwork  detail  is  pleasing.  The  western  build- 
ing, Congress  Hall,  was  erected  in  1788;  here 
Washington's  second  inauguration  took  place 
and  here  John  Adams  was  inducted  into  office 
as  President.  The  eastern  building,  intended  for 
the  City  Hall,  was  built  in  1791.  While  Phila- 
delphia was  the  seat  of  national  government  it 
was  turned  over  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  and  here  presided  Chief  Justices 
John  Jay,  John  Rutledge  and  Oliver  Ellsworth. 

In  New  England,  the  most  impressive  secular 
public  buildings  are  the  Old  State  House  in 
Boston,  built  in  1728,  Faneuil  Hall,  built  in  1741, 
and  the  Bulfinch  State  House,  on  the  summit  of 
Beacon  Hill,  built  in  1795. 

The  Old  State  House,  a  structure  of  pecul- 
iarly pleasing  proportions  and  admirable  poise, 
is  thoroughly  representative  of  the  best  Geor- 
gian feeling  of  the  period  of  its  erection  both  in 
manner  of  construction  and  detail.  Its  square 
lantern  of  three  stages  is  particularly  inter- 
esting as  are  also  the  stepped  gables  at  each 
end,  with  the  carved  figures  of  the  British  lion 
and  unicorn  apparently  stationed  as  heraldic 


190   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

supporters  of  the  ornate  apex  with  the  clock. 
On  account  of  these  stepped  gables  the  criticism 
has  sometimes  been  advanced  that  the  Old 
State  House  shows  traces  of  Dutch  influence 
in  its  design.  While  it  is  quite  true  that  stepped 
gables  are  characteristic  of  many  Dutch  buildings, 
the  attribution  of  Dutch  influence  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  Old  State  House  can  scarcely  be 
justified  for  there  is  nowhere  else  observable 
any  suggestion  of  Dutch  tendencies  and  the 
precedent  for  stepped  gables  in  unmistakably 
English  work  of  an  earlier  date  is  by  no  means 
wanting.  Rich  in  historic  memories,  of  which, 
perhaps,  the  Boston  Massacre  stands  forth  most 
vividly,  it  is  deservedly  cherished  with  civic 
pride  as  the  ancient  centre  of  Provincial  life 
and  it  is  gratifying  to  see  how  punctiliously  and 
accurately  it  has  been  restored  to  its  pristine 
condition  under  the  able  direction  of  Joseph 
Everett  Chandler,  to  whose  enthusiasm  are  due 
many  other  faithful  restorations  of  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  century  New  England  archi- 
tectural treasures. 

Faneuil  Hall,  hard  by,  also  worthily  upholds 
the  Georgian  traditions  of  the  mid-eighteenth 
century  in  its  storeyed  facades,  its  gracefully 
proportioned  and  detailed  cupola  and  the  excel- 
lence of  its  interior  cornices,  pillars  and  carved 
capitals.  This  " cradle  of  American  liberty" 
is  a  truly  noble  building  and  a  worthy  setting 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  191 

for  the  stirring  historic  episodes  that  have  been 
enacted  beneath  its  roof  or  under  the  shadow 
of  its  walls. 

The  Bulfinch  State  House,  a  "model  of  classi- 
cality"  as  someone  has  not  inappropriately 
called  it,  is  an  exceptionally  impressive  precursor 
of  the  Greek  or  Classic  Revival.  Designed  at 
a  time  when  the  graceful  interpretation  of  the 
Georgian  style,  introduced  by  the  Brothers 
Adam,  was  still  dominant,  it  combines  the 
characteristic  elegance  of  its  epoch  with  the 
bold  vigour  of  classic  inspiration,  drawn  direct 
from  the  font  of  antiquity,  that  distinguished 
the  best  public  architecture  of  the  early  nine- 
teenth century.  Despite  the  alterations  and 
additions  to  which  it  has  been  subjected,  its 
strong  individuality  still  dominates  the  struc- 
ture, of  which  the  original  fabric  is  now  but  a 
small  part,  and  breathes  abroad  the  ample 
spirit  of  post-Colonial  dignity. 

The  original  buildings  of  Harvard,  or  rather 
the  worthy  successors  of  the  first  buildings,  none 
of  which  remain,  exhibit,  in  their  plan,  pro- 
portions and  general  treatment,  many  admirable 
features  quite  comparable  to  those  of  the  best 
contemporary  large  Georgian  buildings  in  Eng- 
land and  their  substantial  dignity,  thoroughly 
in  keeping  with  their  purpose,  reflects  the  great- 
est credit  upon  the  Colonial  officers  and  bene- 
factors of  the  University. 


192   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

Of  the  other  Colonial  or  post-Colonial  secu- 
lar public  buildings  in  New  England  deserving 
of  admiration  and  close  study,  all  of  which  it 
would  be  a  congenial  task  to  write  about  at 
length,  did  space  permit,  three  especially  must 
be  mentioned  before  passing  on  to  discuss  those 
in  another  part  of  the  country.  They  are  the 
Custom  House  in  Salem,  which  will  always  be 
associated  with  the  fanciful  melancholy  of 
Hawthorne's  literary  genius;  the  Town  House 
or  State  House  at  Newport,  built  in  1743  from 
the  designs  of  Richard  Munday  and,  last  of  all, 
the  Market  or  City  Hall,  in  the  same  place,  built 
in  1760  after  the  plans  of  Peter  Harrison,  some- 
time an  assistant  to  Sir  John  Vanbrugh,  whose 
close  connexion  with  that  eminent  English 
architect  and  subsequent  removal  to  the  Ameri- 
can Colonies  throw  an  interesting  side  light  upon 
the  bonds  linking  Colonial  architectural  develop- 
ments with  their  source  of  inspiration. 

New  York  could  boast  the  stately  old  build- 
ing of  King's  College ;  Fraunce's  Tavern,  whose 
festive  board,  upon  the  occasion  of  balls  and 
receptions,  groaning  with  toothsome  viands, 
caused  the  feasters  to  groan  with  gout  the  next 
day ;  the  City  Hall,  begun  in  1803,  whose  chaste 
classic  elegance,  surrounded  by  huge  modern 
structures,  still  bears  eloquent  witness  to  the 
civic  good  taste  of  the  period  when  it  was  erected. 
Henry  James  was  greatly  impressed  with  its 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  193 

"perfect  taste  and  finish,  the  reduced,  yet  ample, 
scale,  the  harmony  of  the  parts,  the  just  pro- 
portions, the  modest  classic  grace,  the  living 
look  of  the  type  aimed  at."  On  looking  at  such 
noble  examples  of  the  architecture  of  a  past 
generation,  one  cannot  but  regret  that  the  ruth- 
less sweep  of  commercial  progress  has  brushed 
aside  and  demolished  so  many  monuments  of 
the  New  York  of  Colonial  days. 

In  Colonial  cities  and  towns  the  town  hall  and 
market,  usually  found  close  together  if  not 
actually  occupying  the  same  building,  according 
to  old  English  custom,  were  so  representative 
of  the  visible  course  of  civic  life  that  some 
account  must  be  taken  of  their  presence  though 
few  of  them  now  remain.  The  old  Provincial 
Hall  or  Court  House  in  Philadelphia,  erected 
in  1707,  was  so  thoroughly  typical  of  these 
combined  judicial  and  mercantile  structures 
that,  although  torn  down  many  years  ago,  it 
deserves  some  notice  in  this  place.  It  stood  in 
the  middle  of  Market  street  at  the  corner  of 
Second  and  back  of  it  the  market  sheds  or 
shambles  stretched  away  towards  the  west, 
occupying  the  whole  middle  of  the  street,  and 
increasing  in  extent  year  by  year  as  the  city 
grew  and  more  accommodations  for  the  farmers 
became  necessary.  It  was  a  substantial  brick 
structure,  built  on  arches,  and  was  similar  in 
character  and  appearance  to  the  town  halls  of 


194   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

that  day  in  many  English  county  towns.  "It 
was,"  wrote  a  local  antiquary,  in  one  of  his 
sketches,  "an  important  place.  Monarchs  on 
their  accessions  were  there  proclaimed;  wars 
were  thence  declared ;  and  peace,  when  it  came 
to  bless  the  people,  there  found  a  voice  to  utter 
it.  New  governours  addressed  the  people  over 
whom  they  were  appointed  to  rule,  from  its 
balcony ;  the  emblems  of  sovereignty,  the  royal 
arms  of  England,  were  there  displayed."  There 
centred  all  the  official,  legislative  and  adminis- 
trative life  of  the  Province,  there  the  Provincial 
Council  sat,  there  the  elections  were  held  and 
there  were  the  gaol  and  those  much  dreaded 
but  effective  instruments  of  correction,  the 
pillory,  the  stocks  and  the  whipping  post.  The 
stocks,  standing  as  they  did  in  such  close  prox- 
imity to  the  market,  the  rougher  sort  drew  not 
a  little  amusement  from  pelting  culprits  there 
confined  with  overripe  vegetables  and  we  are 
told,  in  the  reminiscent  notes  of  one  who  was  a 
boy  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  that  "the 
whipping-post  and  pillory  display  was  always 
on  a  market  day  —  then  the  price  of  eggs  went 
up  much."  Such  was  the  old  Philadelphia 
Court  House  and  very  like  it  were  the  town 
houses  and  markets  in  the  other  Colonial  cities. 
One  good  example  of  this  type  of  building,  still 
standing,  is  the  brick  portion  of  the  market  at 
Second  and  Pine  streets,  Philadelphia,  which 


BULFINCH    STATE    HOUSE,    HOSTOX.     1795 


NEW     YORK     CITY     HALL. 
Classic    Revival. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  195 

nearly  resembles  the  Georgian  town  houses 
that  may  yet  be  seen  in  quiet  little  English 
market  towns.  Very  similar  to  this  bit  of 
Georgian  excellence  are  the  old  Town  Hall  in 
Chester,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Town  Hall  in 
Newcastle,  Delaware. 

In  trying  to  form  an  adequate  mental  pic- 
ture of  the  civic  life  of  Colonial  times  in  rela- 
tion to  its  architectural  setting,  we  must  not 
overlook  the  hostelries,  theatres,  schools  and 
hospitals.  The  eighteenth  century  ordinary 
came  into  contact  with  the  social  and  civic  life 
of  the  period  at  every  conceivable  point. 
Thither  came  the  most  substantial  citizens, 
there  matters  of  public  concern  were  discussed, 
meetings  were  held,  entertainments  were  given, 
distinguished  strangers  were  feted  and  travel- 
lers found  welcome  hospitality.  If  one  has 
a  taste  for  poking  about  and  nosing  into  out  of 
the  way  nooks  and  corners,  a  voyage  of  dis- 
covery in  some  of  our  older  cities  will  often 
be  richly  rewarded.  On  north  Second  street, 
in  Philadelphia,  one  may  still  dive  under  arch- 
ways and  find  inn  yards  surrounded  partly  by 
balconied  back  buildings  that  stretch  away  in 
a  string  of  offices  and  kitchens,  partly  by  stables 
and  waggon  sheds.  One  almost  feels  that  these 
inns  have  been  transplanted  bodily  from  old 
London,  so  like  are  they  to  their  English  proto- 
types and,  we  may  incidentally  add,  in  a  much 


196   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

completer  state  of  preservation.  Just  such 
inn  yards  as  these  served  for  theatres  in  Shake- 
speare's day.  It  was  from  such  inn  yards,  too, 
in  the  old  staging  days,  that  the  mail  coaches 
set  out  with  cracking  whip  and  blast  of  horn. 
The  petty  itinerant  shows,  that  used  to  come 
occasionally  to  divert  our  Colonial  forebears 
by  the  sight  of  a  real  live  lion  or  bear  or  electric 
eel  or  any  unusual  creature  that  the  showman 
had  been  able  to  acquire,  availed  themselves 
of  the  inn  yards  for  exhibitions.  In  1763, 
Elizabeth  Drinker,  then  at  Frankford,  notes  in 
her  diary:  "A  lioness  passed  this  road  in  ye 
morning.  Paid  %&.  for  seeing  her  —  a  large  ugly 
animal."  No  doubt  the  "large  ugly  animal" 
had  been  previously  exhibited  in  some  of  the 
inn  yards  on  Second  street,  for  out  that  thor- 
oughfare passed  all  the  traffic  for  New  York  and 
every  place  to  the  north. 

Coffee  houses,  also,  were  favourite  gathering 
places  for  conversation  and  refreshment  and 
one  of  the  most  famous  in  Philadelphia  —  they 
were  much  the  same  in  all  the  cities  —  was  the 
London  Coffee  House  or  Bradford's  Coffee 
House,  at  the  corner  of  Front  and  Market 
streets.  It  was  built  in  1702  and  presented 
an  interesting  example  of  truly  Colonial  archi- 
tecture in  its  striking  brickwork,  its  penthouses 
and  its  jerkin-headed,  gabled  roof.  It  should 
be  noted  that  the  jerkin-head  roof  treatment, 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  197 

the  plain  survival  of  an  English  tradition,  was 
to  be  found  on  a  number  of  other  early  Pennsyl- 
vania buildings  but  the  practice  of  building  in 
this  manner  was  soon  discontinued.  Watson 
in  his  "Annals"  tells  us  that  "at  this  Coffee 
House  —  the  Governour  and  other  persons  of 
note  ordinarily  went  at  set  hours  to  sip  their 
coffee  from  the  hissing  urn,  and  some  of  these 
stated  visitors  had  their  known  stalls.  It  was 
long  the  focus  which  attracted  all  manner  of 
genteel  strangers ;  the  general  parade  was  out- 
side of  the  house  under  a  shed  of  but  common 
construction,  extending  from  the  house  to  the 
gutter  way,  both  on  the  Front  street  and  High 
street  sides.  It  was  to  this,  as  the  most  public 
place,  they  brought  all  vendues  of  horses,  car- 
riages, groceries,  &c,  and  above  all,  here  Phila- 
delphians  once  sold  negro  men,  women  and 
children  as  slaves." 

It  is  to  be  sincerely  regretted  that  the  London 
Coffee  House,  like  its  near  neighbour  the  Provin- 
cial Hall,  was  torn  down  many  years  ago  for, 
quite  apart  from  its  architectural  interest,  its 
historic  associations  were  important  and  inti- 
mately connected  not  only  with  local  events 
but  with  events  that  had  a  bearing  upon  the 
affairs  of  the  whole  country.  One  of  these  was 
the  beginning  of  the  opposition  to  the  Tea  Act 
which  started  in  Philadelphia  and  not  in  Boston 
as    is    popularly    supposed.     "When    the    tax 


198   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

on  tea  was  reduced  to  three  pence  per  pound 
there  seemed  to  be  a  general  disposition  to  pay 
it.  At  this  juncture,  when  the  arrival  of  a 
fresh  consignment  from  the  East  India  Com- 
pany was  expected,  William  Bradford  gathered 
at  the  Coffee  House  several  citizens,  whom  he 
knew  to  be  heartily  opposed  to  the  measures 
of  the  British  Government,  and  together  they 
drew  up  a  set  of  spirited  resolutions  anent  the 
tea  question.  On  the  following  Saturday,  Octo- 
ber 16,  1773,  a  *  large  and  respectable  town- 
meeting,'  presided  over  by  Doctor  Thomas 
Cadwalader,  was  held  at  the  State  House  and 
the  resolutions  were  adopted  enthusiastically. 
The  same  resolutions  were  almost  immedi- 
ately afterwards  adopted,  nearly  word  for  word, 
by  a  town-meeting  in  Boston  (November  5, 
1773),  where  a  disposition  to  receive  the  tea 
had  become  general,  from  an  idea  that  an  opposi- 
tion to  it  would  not  be  seconded  or  supported 
by  any  of  the  other  Colonies." 

Until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
the  American  public  had  been  without  any 
organised  effort  to  present  dramatic  perform- 
ances and,  consequently,  there  were  no  theatres 
to  be  numbered  among  public  buildings  before 
that  time.  Just  after  the  middle  of  the  cen- 
tury, however,  a  stock  company  came  over  from 
England  and  started  upon  a  round  of  engage- 
ments in  the  different  cities  of  the  Colonies. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  199 

By  a  portion  of  the  people  they  were  heartily 
welcomed  but  for  the  most  part  they  met  with 
an  indifferent  if  not  actively  hostile  reception. 
Nevertheless,  despite  all  opposition,  they  per- 
severed, and  in  time  won  an  established  position 
in  the  social  life  of  the  day.  At  first  they  made 
shift  to  get  along  with  quarters  improvised 
in  storehouses  or  other  buildings  that  might 
be  temporarily  adapted  to  their  purpose  but 
eventually  it  became  necessary  to  have  struc- 
tures designed  especially  to  meet  their  needs. 
In  1759  a  small  wooden  theatre  was  built  in 
South  or  Cedar  street,  Southwark,  Philadelphia, 
but  was  used  for  only  a  brief  period.  Its  place 
was  soon  taken  by  a  second  structure,  substan- 
tially built  of  brick,  farther  up  South  street, 
above  Fourth.  This  brick  theatre  was  opened 
November  21,  1766,  "and  was  the  first  per- 
manent building  used  for  theatrical  purposes 
in  America."  Both  this  building  and  its  wooden 
predecessor  were  on  the  south  side  of  South 
street  and  hence  in  Southwark,  as  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Philadelphia  city  authorities 
ended  on  the  north  side  of  that  thoroughfare. 
There  was  more  liberty  of  action  in  Southwark 
and  both  the  first  and  second  theatres  were 
located  there  to  escape  the  violent  opposi- 
tion of  the  powerful  Quaker  element  which 
frowned  upon  dramatic  performances  and  urged 
that    "the    practise    of    play-acting   would    be 


200  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

*  attended  by  mischievous  effects,  such  as  the 
encouragement  of  idleness  and  drawing  great 
sums  of  money  from  weak  and  inconsiderate 
persons/" 

To  this  Southwark  theatre  repaired  all  the 
wealth,  beauty  and  fashion  of  Philadelphia, 
at  that  time  the  metropolis  of  the  Colonies. 
There,  until  1773,  the  "American  Company" 
had  its  regular  season  and,  despite  Quaker 
hostility,  Philadelphia  was  the  most  important 
theatrical  centre  of  all  the  Colonial  cities.  Dur- 
ing the  acute  troubles  with  the  Mother  Country 
prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  and 
while  that  struggle  was  in  progress  the  old 
stock  company  was  driven  from  Philadelphia  as 
most  of  its  members  were  loyal  British  subjects. 
While  the  British  occupation  of  Philadelphia 
lasted,  Lord  Howe's  officers  gave  amateur 
performances  in  the  Southwark  theatre,  devot- 
ing the  proceeds  to  the  benefit  of  the  "widows 
and  orphans  of  the  army."  The  unfortunate 
Major  Andre  took  an  active  part  in  these  dra- 
matic efforts,  and  not  only  acted  but  assisted  in 
painting  the  scenery,  and  one  drop  curtain,  bear- 
ing his  name  as  artist,  was  used  until  it  was 
destroyed  by  a  disastrous  fire  in  1821.  This 
circumstance  and  the  fact  that  General  Wash- 
ington during  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  as 
President  of  the  United  States,  frequently  at- 
tended the  performances,  occupying  one  of  the 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  201 

stage  boxes  above  which  the  arms  of  the  United 
States  had  replaced  those  of  Great  Britain,  have 
lent  an  unusual  interest  to  this  first  permanent 
American  theatre.  It  was  a  rectangular  build- 
ing with  a  low  pitched  gable  end  towards  the 
street  front  and  devoid  of  any  architectural  pre- 
tension save  three  round  headed  windows  above 
the  door  and  a  modest  cupola  on  the  ridge  of 
the  roof.  Only  the  north  wall  of  the  old  build- 
ing still  stands  and  is  incorporated  in  the  fabric 
of  a  distillery  which  occupies  the  site  of  the 
theatre. 

In  1793,  Charles  Bulfinch  built  the  first 
theatre  in  Boston  and,  in  1794,  the  "New 
Theatre"  was  opened  in  Philadelphia,  at  Sixth 
and  Chestnut  streets.  It  was  designed  in 
a  far  more  pretentious  and  stately  manner  than 
the  old  Southwark  theatre  and  showed  the  com- 
ing influence  of  the  Classic  Revival.  In  front 
was  a  long,  pillared  portico  or  arcade  and  the 
whole  fagade  displayed  a  good  deal  of  archi- 
tectural enrichment  of  a  formal  kind.  It  may  be 
regarded  as  thoroughly  typical  of  the  new  archi- 
tectural tendencies  and  representative  of  the 
best  sort  of  play-houses  that  were  erected  for  a 
number  of  years  thereafter. 

The  Pennsylvania  Hospital  was  the  most 
notable  eighteenth  century  structure  of  its 
kind  and  its  sterling  architectural  excellence 
becomes   ever   increasingly   apparent  with   the 


202   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

flight  of  years.  The  only  attempts  at  embellish- 
ment are  upon  the  central  pavilion  and  are 
both  well-considered  and  restrained.  All  the 
rest  of  the  building  was  carried  out  with  the 
extreme  simplicity  of  the  eastern  wing  which 
was  the  first  portion  to  be  built  and  was  erected 
in  1753.  One  could  not  find  anywhere  a  more 
striking  example  of  the  transforming  power  of 
a  string  course  of  contrasting  colour  upon  a 
severely  plain  wall.  The  white  string  course, 
standing  out  in  strong  relief  against  the  deep 
red  brick  walls  and  passing  between  the  row  of 
window  heads  on  the  ground  floor  and  the  win- 
dow cills  of  the  storey  above  it,  communicates  to 
an  extremely  plain  exterior  a  charm  and  dignity 
of  aspect  that  redeem  it  from  the  bald  austerity 
of  a  factory  or  barracks.  Save  this  string 
course  and  the  cupola  atop  the  roof,  this  oldest 
portion  of  the  hospital  and  the  corresponding 
west  wing  are  devoid  of  architectural  adorn- 
ment but  their  just  proportions  and  easy  ampli- 
tude of  dimensions  are  particularly  satisfying 
to  the  eye. 

Among  the  public  buildings  of  the  Colonial 
period,  noteworthy  both  for  their  architectural 
character  and  for  historic  association,  Carpen- 
ters' Hall  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  sessions  of 
the  first  Continental  Congress  were  held,  de- 
mands the  consideration  of  all  patriotic  Ameri- 
cans.    Quite  apart  from  its  historic  importance, 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  203 

Carpenters'  Hall  challenges  the  admiration  of 
every  lover  of  Georgian  architecture  in  its 
sturdiest  manifestation.  The  State  House  in 
Annapolis,  the  Court  House  in  Williamsburg,  the 
Custom  House  in  Charleston  and  other  public 
edifices  of  similar  character  imparted  to  civic 
life  in  Colonial  and  post-Colonial  days  an  ele- 
ment of  dignity  and  poise. 

The  Classic  Revival  had  one  of  its  early 
significant  manifestations  in  the  buildings  of 
the  University  of  Virginia,  a  group  for  which  we 
have  to  thank  no  less  a  person  than  Thomas 
Jefferson.  The  plan  embodied  the  most  compre- 
hensive building  scheme  that  had  yet  been 
essayed.  To  Jefferson's  discriminating  archi- 
tectural taste  and  conscientious  devotion  to  his 
self-imposed  task  as  architect  and  supervisor 
of  the  work  we  owe  it  that  the  University  build- 
ings worthily  represent  one  of  the  best  phases 
of  revived  classicism  in  America.  There  is  a 
dignity  and  honesty  in  Jefferson's  conception 
of  revived  classicism  and  a  thorough  sincerity 
that  often  failed  to  appear  in  later  work  of  the 
same  school.  The  result  achieved  commands 
our  respect  and  when  we  remember  that  the 
parts  of  plans  and  sections  of  details  were 
jotted  down  on  scraps  of  paper  and  the  backs  of 
scribbled  memoranda  we  cannot  help  wondering 
what  would  have  happened  if  the  same  seem- 
ingly   careless    and    unsystematic    course    were 


204   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

pursued  in  our  own  day.  It  was  doubtless  the 
enthusiastic  devotion  of  the  architect  and  his 
constant  supervision  along  with  the  conscientious 
efforts  and  pride  of  every  artisan  that  saved  the 
day  as  it  did  in  so  many  other  cases. 


PENNSYLVANIA     HOSPITAL,     PHILADELPHIA. 


BLACK     HORSE    INN     VAKI),     PHILADELPHIA. 


BRUTON    PARISH    CHURCH,    WILLIAMSBURG,    VA.     1714. 


CHAPTER  XII 

CHURCHES  OF  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD 

IT  is  a  far  cry  from  the  first  place  of  wor- 
ship contrived  at  Jamestown,  in  1607, 
to  the  stately  fanes  erected  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century  in  all  the  Colonies.  Through 
each  successive  stage  of  development,  however, 
runs  a  thread  of  continuity  corresponding  to 
the  material  circumstances  of  the  colonists. 
Everywhere  in  the  Colonies,  the  church  building 
was  an  exceedingly  important  structure  and 
no  one  building  or  set  of  buildings,  in  each 
community,  more  faithfully  reflected  the  social 
and  political  as  well  as  the  religious  condi- 
tions of  the  colonists.  Setting  aside  the  civic 
and  defensive  uses  to  which  church  edifices 
were  often  put,  especially  in  the  earliest  period, 
and  confining  ourselves  to  the  purely  ecclesias- 
tical side  of  their  existence,  we  shall  find  them 
an  invaluable  index  to  the  varied  aspects  of 
the  life  of  the  times. 

For  the  sake  of  contrast,  both  historical  and 
architectural,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  quote 
Captain    John    Smith's    account    of    the    first 

205 


206  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

Virginia  place  of  worship  so  that  we  may  fully 
realise  the  strides  of  progress  made  from  the 
feeble  Jamestown  beginning  in  1607.  He  says : 
"This  was  our  church  till  we  built  a  homely 
thing  like  a  barne,  set  upon  cratchets,  covered 
with  rafts,  sedge  and  earth ;  so  was  the  walls. 
The  best  of  our  houses  [were]  of  like  curiosity ; 
but  the  most  part  far  much  worse  workmanship, 
that  neither  could  well  defend  [from]  wind  nor 
raine.  Yet  we  had  daily  Common  Prayer, 
morning  and  evening;  every  Sunday  two  ser- 
mons; and  every  three  months  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, till  our  minister  died;  but  our  prayers 
daily  with  an  Homily  on  Sundaies  we  continued 
two  or  three  years  after  till  our  preachers  came." 
The  words  "till  our  preachers  came"  mean,  of 
course,  the  successors  of  the  »Rev.  Mr.  Hunt 
who  had  accompanied  the  expedition. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  the  older  parishes 
and  congregations,  it  is  the  rule  rather  than 
the  exception  to  find  two  or  three  successive 
houses  of  worship  erected,  as  the  means  and 
growing  numbers  of  the  people  made  it  possible 
or  expedient,  to  replace  former  structures  of 
meaner  fabric  which  seem  to  have  been  regarded 
from  the  outset  as  merely  temporary  gathering 
places,  meant  to  serve  only  until  worthy  edifices 
could  be  undertaken.  Some  of  the  earliest 
churches  were  merely  block  houses  or  forts, 
occasionally  surrounded  by  stockades,  proclaim- 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD1    207 

ing  the  ready  physical  as  well  as  spiritual  mili- 
tancy of  the  worshippers  within  their  walls, 
but  these  were  abandoned  so  soon  as  the  in- 
creasing prosperity  and  a  greater  sense  of 
security  from  attacks  by  hostile  savages  war- 
ranted a  more  peaceful  and  comfortable  type 
of  building  for  religious  purposes. 

Of  course,  in  the  several  parts  of  the  Colonies, 
the  character  of  the  buildings  erected  for  reli- 
gious uses  indicated  the  prevailing  local  ecclesi- 
astical organisation.  In  the  South,  especially 
in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  where  the  Church 
of  England  was  the  recognised  dominant  body 
and  Church  and  State  were  closely  allied,  we 
find  the  churches  conforming  to  English  eccle- 
siastical traditions.  In  the  Middle  Colonies, 
where  religious  liberty  was  freely  permitted, 
we  find  a  greater  variety  including  the  struc- 
tures peculiarly  adapted  to  the  worship  of  the 
Church  of  England,  Quaker  meeting  houses 
and  the  buildings  designed  to  accommodate  the 
different  German  sects.  In  theocratic  New 
England,  while  Church  of  England  edifices  were 
to  be  met  with  now  and  again,  the  simple  meet- 
ing house  type,  agreeable  to  the  congregational 
form  of  worship,   everywhere  prevailed. 

And  now  let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  the 
manner  of  people  who  frequented  these  churches 
Sunday  after  Sunday.  We  shall  find  among 
them  the  extremes  of  both  worldly  pomp  and 


208  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ostentation,  on  the  one  hand,  and  humble 
simplicity,  on  the  other,  as  they  went  to  the 
weekly  discharge  of  their  religious  duties.  Our 
Colonial  forebears,  however  democratic  some 
of  them  may  have  been  in  religious  principle 
or  however  much  some  of  them  may  have  de- 
cried set  ceremonial  forms,  were,  almost  with- 
out exception,  great  respecters  of  persons  and 
in  no  way  did  they  more  fully  display  this 
common  failing  —  it  is  just  as  prevalent  in  kin- 
dred forms  at  the  present  day  —  than  in  their 
methods  of  seating  the  congregations  according 
to  the  accepted  worth  or  dignity  of  the  indi- 
vidual members. 

In  the  South,  the  lords  of  the  manors  or  the 
squires,  just  as  in  England,  had  their  great 
square  pews  in  the  chancel  or,  perhaps,  a  whole 
transept  would  be  reserved  to  their  exclusive 
use  for  their  family,  dependants  or  tenants  as 
was  the  case,  for  example,  in  Christ  Church, 
Lancaster  County,  Virginia,  where  Robert 
("King")  Carter,  at  whose  charge  the  edifice 
was  built,  made  such  a  reservation.  The 
"King's"  own  high  panelled  family  pew,  just 
before  the  pulpit,  had  a  brass  rail  around  the 
top  from  which  hung  damask  curtains  on  all 
sides  except  that  opposite  the  pulpit.  This 
screened  the  occupants,  when  standing  up,  from 
the  gaze  of  the  rudely  inquisitive. 

Upon  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  the  Virginia 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     209 

government  from  Jamestown  to  Williamsburg,  in 
1699,  Bruton  Parish  Church  became  the  "court 
church"  of  the  Colony  and  "official  distinction 
was  recognised  and  emphasised"  in  the  order 
of  seating.  The  historian  of  the  parish,  writ- 
ing of  the  present  building,  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1715,  says:  "To  His  Excellency  the 
Governour  and  His  Council  of  State  was  assigned 
a  pew  elevated  from  the  floor,  overhung  with 
a  red  velvet  canopy,  around  which  his  name 
was  emblasoned  in  letters  of  gold,  the  name 
being  changed  as  Spotswood,  Drysdale,  Gooch, 
Dinwiddie,  Fauquier,  Lord  Botetourt  and  Lord 
Dunmore  succeeded  to  office.  In  the  square 
pews  of  the  transepts  sat  the  members  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  the  pews  in  the  choir 
being  assigned  to  the  Surveyor  General  and 
the  Parish  Rector,  while  in  the  overhanging 
galleries  in  the  transept  and  along  the  side  walls 
of  the  church  sat  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  and  other  persons  of  wealth  and 
distinction,  to  whom  the  privilege  of  erecting 
these  private  galleries  was  accorded  from  time 
to  time." 

In  city  churches,  because  of  the  greater 
number  of  important  folk,  questions  of  prece- 
dence in  seating  were  more  perplexing  than  in 
the  country.  At  Annapolis  in  St.  Anne's,  in 
Christ  Church  at  Philadelphia  and  also  in  the 
"court  churches"  in  New  York  and  Boston  the 


210   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

Royal  Governours'  pews  were  marked  by  appro- 
priate symbols  of  the  majesty  of  state,  the  royal 
arms  carved  in  walnut  that  once  hung  above 
the  Lieutenant  Governour's  seat  being  still 
preserved  at  Christ  Church  in  Philadelphia. 
The  lesser  dignitaries  sat  in  due  order  becoming 
their  station. 

In  New  England  it  seems  to  have  been  the 
general  custom  in  the  earlier  period  for  the 
men  to  sit  on  one  side  of  the  church  and  the 
women  on  the  other.  Afterwards,  families  sat 
together.  In  order  to  avoid  bickering  and  con- 
tention about  the  order  of  precedence  it  was 
not  an  unusual  thing  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  "dignify  the  meeting."  The  members  of 
these  committees  were  changed  from  time  to 
time  "in  order  to  obviate  any  of  the  effects  of 
partiality  through  kinship,  friendship,  personal 
esteem  or  debt."  A  second  committee  was 
appointed  to  seat  the  members  of  the  first 
committee  according  to  their  proper  rank.  In 
her  charming  book,  "The  Sabbath  in  Puritan 
New  England,"  Alice  Morse  Earle  says  :  — 

"Sometimes  a  row  of  square  pews  was  built  on  three 
sides  of  the  ground  floor,  and  each  pew  occupied  by  sepa- 
rate families,  while  the  pulpit  was  on  the  fourth  side.  If 
any  man  wished  such  a  private  pew  for  himself  and  family, 
he  obtained  permission  from  the  church  and  town,  and 
built  it  at  his  own  expense.  Immediately  in  front  of  the 
pulpit  was  either  a  long  seat  or  a  square  enclosed  pew  for 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     211 

the  deacons,  who  sat  facing  the  congregation.  This  was 
usually  a  foot  or  two  above  the  level  of  the  other  pews, 
and  was  reached  by  two  or  three  steep,  narrow  steps.  On 
a  still  higher  plane  was  a  pew  for  the  ruling  elders,  when 
ruling  elders  there  were.  The  magistrates  also  had 
a  pew  for  their  special  use.  What  we  now  deem  the  best 
seats,  those  in  the  middle  of  the  church,  were  in  olden 
times,  the  free  seats." 

"  In  front,  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  (or  very  rarely 
in  the  foremost  row  in  the  gallery),  was  a  seat  of  highest 
dignity,  known  as  the  '  fore  seat,'  in  which  only  the  per- 
sons of  greatest  importance  in  the  community  sat." 

Not  only  in  New  England,  but  in  the  other 
Colonies  as  well,  seats  and  pews  in  the  galleries 
seem  to  have  been  preferred  as  the  most  desir- 
able by  persons  of  quality  and  consideration  in 
the  community  next  to  the  specially  exalted 
seats  belowstairs. 

In  many  places,  particularly  in  the  Middle 
and  Southern  Colonies,  the  churches  were  re- 
garded as  the  most  dignified  places  of  sepulture 
for  persons  of  consequence,  and  their  gravestones, 
with  the  armorial  bearings  and  inscriptions 
almost  effaced  by  the  treading  feet  of  genera- 
tions of  worshippers,  are  to  be  seen  in  the  aisles 
and  chancel  pavements.  The  chancel  was  es- 
teemed the  most  honourable  place  of  burial 
and  as  an  instance  of  this  may  be  mentioned 
the  grave  of  General  Forbes,  the  hero  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  in  the  chancel  of  Christ  Church, 
Philadelphia.     John    Penn,    one    of    the    Pro- 


212   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

prietaries,  is  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  chancel 
steps.  It  is  interesting  in  this  connexion  to 
note,  by  way  of  exception,  that  Judge  Moore 
of  Moore  Hall,  the  stout  old  Pennsylvania 
Loyalist,  and  the  person  of  greatest  consequence 
in  the  parish  of  St.  David,  Radnor,  directed 
that  he  and  his  wife,  the  Lady  Williamina 
Wemyss,  should  be  buried  at  the  threshold 
of  the  church.  Emblazoned  hatchments  were 
frequently  used  at  the  time  of  funerals  and 
some  of  them  are  still  preserved  in  our  old 
churches.  As  in  England,  during  much  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  it  was  the  fashion  in  the 
Colonies  to  bury  persons  of  note  at  night  by 
the  light  of  torches. 

In  not  a  few  of  the  early  churches  there  was 
an  utter  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  style  of  the 
seats  or  pews  employed  and  permission  was 
often  granted  to  influential  persons  to  buy 
space  within  the  churches  and  erect  pews  of 
their  own,  suited  to  their  personal  fancy.  The 
space  not  occupied  by  these  privately  owned 
pews  was  sometimes  filled  with  movable  benches, 
stools,  or  chairs,  and  it  was  not  an  unusual 
thing  for  the  humbler  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion to  bring  their  seats  with  them  and  put 
them  wherever  they  could  find  room.  We  find 
ample  evidence  of  this  condition  of  things  in 
places  as  widely  apart  as  the  simple  country 
parish  of  St.  David's,  Radnor,   in  the  Welsh 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     213 

Barony,  and  King's  Chapel  in  Boston.  In  early 
days  the  members  of  St.  David's  congregation 
fetched  thither  nondescript  seats  as  they  listed 
and  it  was  not  until  well  into  the  eighteenth 
century  that  rough  benches  were  furnished 
and  "rented  for  the  support  of  the  Church." 
Not  till  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
do  the  parish  records  show  the  existence  of  pews 
and  the  custom  seems  to  have  then  prevailed 
of  "selling  a  piece  of  ground  within  the  Church 
on  which  the  purchaser  had  the  privilege  of 
building  such  a  pew  as  he  desired."  With  this 
system,  or  rather  lack  of  system,  in  seating,  it 
appears  that  squabbles  occasionally  arose  as 
we  may  judge  from  the  following  minute  in 
the  old  register :  — 

"October  ye  26th,  1747.  Whereas  a  Difference  hath 
arisen  between  Francis  Wayne  and  his  Brother  Isaac 
Wayne  [the  father  of  General  Anthony  Wayne]  about 
their  Right  in  the  pugh  Late  Anthony  Wayne  and  John 
Hunter,  and  it  appearing  to  the  Vestry  that  ye  sd.  Fran- 
cis and  Isaac  have  purchased  the  Ground  of  a  Pugh  and 
the  sd.  Isaac  having  Built  upon  a  part  of  the  Ground  the 
Vestry  Do  agree  that  the  sd.  Francis  have  the  ground  for 
half  a  pugh  joining  of  the  west  side  to  Richard  Hughes 
and  Wm.  Owen's  Pugh." 

So  late  as  1763  the  "Vestry  granted  to  Robert 
Jones  the  privilege  to  build  a  Pew  on  a  piece 
of  ground  in  St.  David's  Church,  adjoining 
Wayne's  and  Hunter's  pew,  he  paying  for  the 


214  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ground  £  4  10s."  In  King's  chapel  in  Boston 
the  vestry  "stipulated  that  each  member 
should  pay  the  cost  of  building  his  own  pew; 
this  was  accordingly  done,  but  without  any 
uniformity,  so  that  the  interior  of  the  old  church 
must  have  presented  an  amusing  diversity  of 
work.  .  .  .  The  walls  were  decorated  with 
banners,  escutcheons,  and  coats  of  arms  of  the 
King  of  England,  of  the  nobility  and  gentry 
of  the  congregation,  and  of  the  Governour  of 
the  province,  and  the  interior  was  considered 
so  magnificent  and  so  luxurious  as  to  be  a  blot 
upon  the  religion  of  Massachusetts." 

As  might  be  expected,  when  so  much  was  made 
of  assigning  each  member  of  the  congregation  a 
seat  befitting  his  dignity,  the  question  of  suit- 
able clothing  loomed  large  in  the  minds  of  our 
forebears  and  from  one  end  of  the  Colonies  to 
the  other  they  gave  way  to  the  temptation  to 
appear  before  their  neighbours  in  their  best 
frills  and  furbelows  so  that  the  church  service 
on  Sunday  was  often  a  clothes  show  as  well. 
To  such  an  extent  was  this  passion  for  display 
carried  that  it  led  to  a  custom  in  some  country 
parishes  of  New  England  to  which  Alice  Morse 
Earle  refers.     She  says  :  — 

"One  very  pleasing  diversion  of  the  attention  of  the 
congregation  from  the  parson  was  caused  by  an  innocent 
custom  that  prevailed  in  many  a  country  community. 
Just  fancy  the  flurry  on  a  June  sabbath  in  Killingly,  in 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     215 

1785,  when  Joseph  Gay,  clad  in  velvet  coat,  lace  frilled 
shirt,  and  white  broadcloth  knee  breeches,  with  his  fair 
bride  of  a  few  days,  gorgeous  in  a  peach  coloured  silk 
gown  and  a  bonnet  trimmed  '  with  sixteen  yards  of  white 
ribbon,'  rose  in  the  middle  of  the  sermon,  in  their  front 
seat  in  the  gallery  and  stood  for  several  minutes,  slowly 
turning  around  in  order  to  show  from  every  point  of  view 
their  bridal  finery  to  the  eagerly  gazing  congregation  of 
friends  and  neighbours.  Such  was  the  really  delightful 
and  thoughtful  custom,  in  those  fashion-plateless  days, 
among  persons  of  wealth  in  that  and  other  churches;  it 
was,  in  fact,  part  of  the  wedding  celebration.  Even  in 
midwinter,  in  the  icy  church,  the  blushing  bride  would 
throw  aside  her  broadcloth  cape  or  camblet  roquelo  and 
stand  up  clad  in  a  sprigged  India  muslin  gown  with  only 
a  thin  lace  tucker  over  her  neck,  warm  with  pride  in  her 
pretty  gown,  her  white  bonnet  with  ostrich  feathers  and 
embroidered  veil,  and  in  her  new  husband." 

If  the  same  custom  did  not  prevail  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  doubtless  the  members  of 
the  congregation  had  ample  opportunity,  and 
made  the  best  of  it  too,  to  scrutinise  the  apparel 
of  their  fellow  worshippers.  It  is  to  be  feared, 
however,  that  their  brave  attire  sometimes 
suffered  damage  from  insufficiently  dusted 
seats  for  we  read  that  the  sexton  of  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  probably  the  wealthiest 
and  most  splendid  church  in  the  Colonies, 
having  applied  in  1761  for  an  increase  of  salary, 
it  was  agreed  to  give  him  "£20  a  year  on  a 
condition  that  he  was  'to  wash  the  church 
twice  a  year  and   sand  it  at  Easter  and  Sep- 


216    THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

tember ;  and  also  to  sweep  the  church  once  every 
two  weeks.'" 

The  music  was  of  an  exceedingly  indifferent 
character  from  an  artistic  point  of  view  and 
was  not  always  edifying  and  whole  hearted 
on  the  part  of  the  congregation.  In  New  Eng- 
land, musical  instruments  were  only  introduced 
after  a  storm  of  bitter  opposition  and  general 
repugnance  to  the  "boxes  of  whistles,"  as  organs 
were  contemptuously  called.  Even  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  Colonies,  where  a  preju- 
dice against  instruments  did  not  exist,  the  music 
must  often  have  been  of  a  distressing  nature. 
Referring  once  more  to  Christ  Church  we  read 
that  "the  singer  then  called  the  Clerk,  was 
Joseph  Fry  —  a  small  man  with  a  great  voice, 
who,  standing  in  the  organ  gallery,  was  wont 
to  make  the  whole  church  resound  with  his 
strong,  deep  and  grave  tones."  When  there 
was  a  ripple  of  improvement  in  the  general 
musical  situation,  after  the  Revolution,  "the 
efforts  of  church  musicians  to  raise  the  standard 
were  apparently  not  looked  upon  with  favour. 
Joseph  Fry,  or  his  successors,  did  not  'make  a 
cheerful  noise  before  the  Lord'  to  the  taste  of 
the  congregation,  for  in  1785  the  vestry  passed 
a  resolution  'that  the  clerks  be  desired  to  sing 
such  tunes  only  as  are  plain  and  familiar  to  the 
congregation ;  the  singing  of  other  tunes,  and 
frequent  changing  of  tunes,  being  to  the  certain 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     217 

knowledge  of  this  vestry,  generally  disagree- 
able and  inconvenient.' " 

Although  early  New  England  settlers  were  at 
first  summoned  to  meeting  "by  drum,  horn  and 
shell,''  bells  were  soon  introduced  and  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  Colonies  great  store  was 
set  by  them  and  more  than  one  fine  peal  was 
brought  hither  from  England.  The  bells  of 
Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  were  particularly 
famous  and  were  always  being  pealed  so  that 
the  German  traveller,  Dr.  Schoepf,  said  that 
you  would  think  you  were  in  a  papal  or  imperial 
city  —  there  was  always  something  to  be  rung. 
"From  the  time  that  'the  ring  of  bells'  —  the 
first  in  the  Colonies  —  was  first  hung,  their  metal 
throats  were  busy  proclaiming  all  sorts  of  things 
from  the  anniversaries  of  King  Charles's  Res- 
toration, Guy  Fawkes's  Day,  and  the  King's 
Birthday,  down  to  semi-weekly  markets  or  the 
arrival  in  the  Delaware  of  the  '  Myrtilla,' 
Captain  Budden's  ship,  in  which  the  peal  had 
been  brought  out  from  London." 

In  a  previous  chapter  reference  has  been 
made  to  the  splendid  equipage  in  which  wealthy 
people  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  Colonies 
came  to  church.  A  word  must  be  added, 
to  complete  the  picture,  of  the  way  in  which 
Southern  congregations  arrived.  While  a  few 
of  the  very  wealthy  drove  to  church  in  their 
state  coaches,  the  great  majority  came  on  horse- 


218   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

back  for  the  distances  were  too  great  to  traverse 
afoot.  Horses  were  tethered  in  groups  to  the 
trees  about  the  churches  and  it  was  the  recog- 
nised custom  that  the  congregation  should 
gather  in  the  church  yard  before  and  after  ser- 
vice and  they  gladly  embraced  the  opportunity 
thus  afforded  for  social  intercourse.  In  country 
districts  of  the  South  the  same  condition  pre- 
vails to-day,  and  saddle  horses  and  buggies 
may  be  found  in  groups  under  all  the  trees  near 
the  church  building  or  in  the  sheds,  where  such 
are  provided. 

And  now  we  pass  to  a  consideration  of  the 
architectural  features  of  the  church  buildings 
in  the  several  Colonies.  We  shall  begin  with 
those  in  Virginia  as  they  were  the  earliest. 
Only  two  of  the  seventeenth  century  structures 
in  the  Old  Dominion  remain  but  they  are  suffi- 
ciently distinctive  to  give  us  a  very  definite 
idea  of  the  architectural  ideals  that  actuated 
the  Virginia  colonists.  These  are  St.  Luke's 
at  Smithfield,  built  in  1632,  and  St.  Peter's, 
New  Kent  County,  built  at  the  very  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  so  closely  following 
the  type  of  the  first  mentioned  building  that 
it  may  be  reckoned  as  a  seventeenth  century 
structure.  Besides  these  two,  there  is  the  tower 
of  the  old  church  at  Jamestown  to  which  has  been 
added,  in  the  way  of  restoration,  a  body  designed 
upon  the  lines  of  St.  Luke's,  Smithfield. 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     219 

St.  Luke's  is  a  staunchly  built  rectangular 
brick  structure  with  a  steep  pitched  roof  and 
a  heavy,  square  tower,  of  three  stages,  at  the 
western  end.  The  coping  of  the  eastern  gable 
is  curiously  stepped  in  a  way  that  suggests  Dutch 
or  Flemish  influence.  The  general  appearance 
is  that  of  a  rural  English  village  church  that 
might  have  been  transplanted  to  its  new  environ- 
ment. There  is  little  in  its  contour,  propor- 
tions or  detail  that  savours  of  Renaissance 
inspiration,  then  dominant  in  England,  but 
rather  does  it  smack  of  the  old  English  Gothic 
feeling  that  characterised  many  of  the  sixteenth 
century  structures,  when  the  Gothic  spirit  was 
really  decadent  but  still  strong  enough  to  retain 
certain  well  defined  traditional  features.  The 
side  walls  are  strengthened  and  divided  into 
bays  by  buttresses  and  the  pointed  arch  is 
retained  above  the  twin  lancet  windows.  The 
mullions  of  these  windows  and  of  the  east  win- 
dow, with  its  unusual  combination  of  round  arch 
and  pointed  arch  sections,  are  substantially 
constructed  of  bricks.  The  one  particular  in 
which  Renaissance  influence  is  visible  is  the 
use  of  quoins  instead  of  buttresses  to  stiffen 
the  tower  corners.  The  round  arched  door  is 
almost  Norman  in  character.  Within,  the  walls 
are  plastered  above  the  wainscot  and  the  ceiling 
is  a  single  barrel  vault. 

St.  Peter's,  New  Kent  County,  presents  the 


220   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

same  general  contour  so  that  a  family  resem- 
blance is  unmistakable  but  it  is  less  felicitous 
in  all  its  details.  The  tower  is  pierced  by  such 
large  arched  openings  in  front  and  at  the  sides 
that  it  appears  to  stand  on  legs  and  to  have  no 
particular  connexion  with  the  ground.  There 
are  no  buttresses  to  support  the  walls,  the 
windows  are  rectangular  with  flat-arched  lintels 
and  are  filled  with  sashes.  While  venerable 
and  interesting,  St.  Peter's  can  scarcely  be  re- 
garded as  in  any  way  architecturally  so  satis- 
fying as  St.  Luke's  is.  How  much  of  this  lack 
of  charm  is  due  to  so-called  "restoration"  and 
"improvements,"  it  would  be  hard  to  say,  for 
want  of  sufficiently  specific  data. 

One  of  the  earliest  structures  to  show  a 
distinctly  Renaissance  feeling,  a  suggestive  pre- 
cursor of  the  Georgian  buildings  that  soon  fol- 
lowed, was  Bruton  Parish  Church  at  Williams- 
burg, completed  in  1715.  Here  for  the  first 
time  may  be  seen  the  cruciform  plan,  often 
met  with  in  other  Virginia  churches,  sometimes 
of  Latin,  sometimes  of  Greek  outline.  It  is 
curious  that  this  feature,  which  belongs  pecul- 
iarly to  edifices  of  Gothic  provenance,  should 
make  its  first  appearance  in  a  structure  of 
Renaissance  inspiration.  The  pitch  of  the 
roof  is  steep  and  this  fact,  along  with  the  cru- 
ciform plan,  gives  the  contour  a  partly  Gothic 
character.      All  else  is  of  Renaissance  affinities. 


GLORIA    DEI     (OLD    SWEDES),     PHILADELPHIA.      1700. 


ST.     LUKE'S    CHURCH.    SMITHFIELD,    VA.     1632. 


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CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     221 

There  are  no  buttresses,  the  tall  windows  with 
round  or  compass  heads  contain  sashes  with 
broad  muntins  and  the  sturdy,  square  tower, 
of  three  stages,  at  the  western  end,  is  surmounted 
by  an  octagonal  wooden  spire  which,  although 
severely  simple  and  devoid  of  architectural 
ornament,  suggests  in  structural  treatment  the 
methods  of  Wren  and  his  contemporaries.  Cir- 
cular windows  pierce  the  end  walls  of  the  tran- 
sept and  chancel  and  these  were  originally 
filled  with  panes  of  plain  glass  set  in  broad 
muntins.  The  brick  is  laid  in  Flemish  bond 
and  the  cornice  is  exceedingly  simple  and  far 
less  prominent  than  in  later  buildings  of  purely 
Georgian  character. 

For  examples  of  the  typically  Georgian 
churches  of  the  South  we  may  instance  Christ 
Church,  Lancaster  County,  Virginia,  "Old  Po- 
hick  Church,"  Fairfax  County,  Virginia,  with 
the  building  of  which  Washington  was  inti- 
mately concerned  and  of  which  he  was  a  vestry- 
man, and  Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  where 
Washington  was  also  a  vestryman  and  frequent 
attendant.  The  last  named  building  was  de- 
signed by  James  Wren,  a  descendant,  it  is  said, 
of  the  great  Sir  Christopher.  Other  churches 
just  as  typical  might  have  been  selected  but 
these  three  will  fully  answer  the  purpose. 

Christ  Church,  Lancaster  County,  was  built 
in  1732  at  the  charge  of  Robert  ("King")  Carter 


222   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

as  before  stated.  The  ground  plan  is  in  the 
form  of  a  Greek  cross,  all  the  arms  being  of  equal 
length.  The  shingle  roof  is  hipped  and  of 
steep  pitch,  the  cornice  is  bold  and  vigorously 
proportioned,  the  walls  are  of  brick  laid  in 
Flemish  bond  with  black  headers.  The  win- 
dows are  round-  or  compass-headed  and  the 
brick  surrounds  project  slightly  from  the  face 
of  the  wall,  meeting  at  the  top  in  a  white  key- 
stone. The  muntins  of  the  sashes  are  heavy 
and  the  panes  small.  The  door  is  set  between 
heavy  pilasters  and  surmounted  by  a  straight 
pediment.  Above  the  pediment,  and  just  below 
the  cornice,  is  a  small  elliptical  window.  Within, 
the  aisles  are  paved  with  stone,  the  pews  are 
high  and  straight  backed,  the  pulpit  is  an  im- 
posing structure  and  the  plastered  ceiling  is 
vaulted.  All  the  details,  both  inside  and  out, 
are  characteristic  of  the  Georgian  mode. 

"Old  Pohick  Church,"  the  parish  church  of 
Mount  Vernon,  was  built  in  1769  and  shows  evi- 
dence of  later  Georgian  feeling  in  several  of  its 
details.  The  cornice,  notably,  has  become  more 
refined  in  the  proportion  and  contour  of  its 
mouldings  and  the  muntins  are  of  less  buxom 
dimensions.  The  building  is  taller  than  Christ 
Church,  Lancaster  County,  and  the  walls  are 
pierced  by  two  tiers  of  windows,  those  in  the 
lower  tier  being  rectangular  while  those  in  the 
upper  tier  are  round  headed.     Both  upper  and 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     223 

lower  windows  have  surrounds  of  one-coloured 
brick,  not  projecting  as  at  Christ  Church  but 
set  flush  with  the  surface  of  the  wall.  The  build- 
ing is  practically  square  in  plan,  the  corners 
being  stiffened  by  white  stone  quoins,  and  the 
roof  is  hipped.  Inside,  the  aisles  are  paved 
with  stone,  the  communion  table,  surrounded 
by  a  railing,  stands  at  one  end  of  the  church 
and  the  wall  back  of  it  is  panelled  and  em- 
bellished with  a  broken  pediment  resting  on  four 
Ionic  pilasters,  in  the  panels  between  which 
are  painted  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed  and 
the  Ten  Commandments.  Against  one  of  the 
side  walls  is  built  a  high,  wine-glass  pulpit  with 
a  great  sounding  board  above  it  and,  just  below 
it,  the  clerk's  desk.  At  the  angle  of  the  walls 
and  ceiling  is  an  unusually  heavy  and  elaborate 
wooden  cornice.  All  the  minutiae  of  the  in- 
terior woodwork  show  the  increasing  refinement 
of  proportion  and  detail  characteristic  of  this 
part  of  the  Georgian  period. 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  built  slightly  later 
than  Pohick  Church,  is  substantially  the  same 
in  plan,  the  main  points  of  difference  being  the 
Palladian  window  at  one  end  of  the  building 
and  the  tower  and  portico  at  the  other,  the  latter 
embellishment  being  a  later  addition.  Inside, 
the  chief  point  of  difference  consists  in  the 
placing  of  the  pulpit  immediately  in  front  of 
the  central  member  of  the  Palladian  window, 


224  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  panelled  spaces  on  each  side  of  the  window 
being  devoted  to  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer 
and  the  Ten  Commandments,  according  to  a 
common  custom.  Christ  Church,  Alexandria, 
further  differs  from  Pohick  Church  in  having 
galleries  around  three  sides,  supported  on  slender 
Tuscan  columns.  The  coved  cornice  at  the 
angle  of  walls  and  ceiling,  while  exceedingly- 
graceful,  is  not  so  beautiful  as  the  wooden 
cornice  in  Pohick  Church. 

From  considerations  of  date  and  geography, 
our  attention  is  next  claimed  by  the  group  of 
small  churches  in  the  Middle  Colonies  which 
may  be  represented  by  the  Gloria  Dei  (Old 
Swedes),  Philadelphia,  St.  David's,  Radnor,  and 
Trinity,  Oxford.  The  present  structure  of  the 
Gloria  Dei  was  built  in  1700  to  replace  the  old 
block  house,  built  in  1665,  which  had  afforded 
a  place  of  worship  for  the  congregation  since 
1677.  Seen  from  the  exterior,  the  church  is 
cruciform  in  plan  with  an  apsidal  east  end. 
At  the  west  end  is  a  small,  sharp  pointed  belfry 
surmounting  a  projection  in  front  of  the  church 
which  is  carried  up  to  the  peak  of  the  roof  some- 
what in  the  manner  of  a  tower,  the  lower  part 
forming  a  vestibule.  The  roof  is  exceedingly 
steep  in  pitch  and,  by  the  same  token,  thereby 
exhibits  the  Swedish  origin  of  its  plan.  The 
apsidal  east  end  also  indicates  its  Swedish  origin 
for  both  the  steep  pitched  roof  and  the  apse 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     225 

were  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the  Scandi- 
navian ecclesiastical  edifices.  The  brick  is  laid 
in  Flemish  bond,  the  headers,  which  seem  to 
have  been  the  arch  bricks  in  the  kiln,  being 
covered  with  a  vitreous  blue  black  glaze.  At 
several  places  an  interesting  diaper  pattern  is 
worked  in  the  walls  by  the  ingenious  use  of  these 
glazed  headers.  The  great  square  windows  are 
filled  with  heavy  muntined  sashes  and  small 
panes  of  glass.  It  was  found  at  an  early  date 
that  the  side  walls  were  being  pushed  over  by 
the  thrust  of  the  roof  and  to  brace  them  the 
transepts,  which  do  not  appear  in  the  interior 
plan,  were  built  about  1703,  giving  the  building 
its  cruciform  appearance.  The  south  transept 
is  a  vestibule  or  porch  while  the  north  transept 
is  used  as  a  sacristy.  The  ceiling  is  vaulted. 
North  and  south  galleries  date  from  an  early 
period  but  were  built  somewhat  later  than  the 
rest  of  the  structure.  The  details  of  panelling 
and  woodwork  are  of  distinctly  pre-Georgian 
affinities. 

St.  David's,  Radnor,  was  built  in  1714  and 
seems  to  have  been  the  result  of  the  efforts  of 
local  artisans  without  much  attempt  at  archi- 
tectural direction  or  planning.  It  is  extremely 
simple  in  every  way.  In  plan  it  is  rectangular 
with  a  later  addition  at  one  side  to  accommodate 
the  vestry  room.  The  organ  gallery  is  at  one 
end  and  is  reached  by  an  outside  enclosed  stone 


226   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

stairway.  The  roof  is  of  steep  pitch  and  the 
cornices  are  severely  plain.  The  round  headed 
windows  are  now  filled  with  small  panes  set  in 
broad  muntins  but,  if  we  may  believe  tradi- 
tion, they  were  originally  filled  with  diamond 
paned  leaded  casements.  Perhaps  the  most 
interesting  architectural  feature  of  St.  David's 
is  the  texture  of  the  stone  work  in  its  rubble 
walls  which  are  built  of  random  sized  native 
field  stone  and  pointed  with  white  mortar. 
This  masonry  is  thoroughly  representative  of 
the  traditional  manner  of  building  stone  walls 
which  the  Welsh  artisans  seem  to  have  brought 
with  them  from  their  Cambrian  home  and  which 
has  left  such  a  strong  impress  upon  the  stone 
work  of  so  many  of  the  old  houses  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  is  one  of  the  clearest  instances  of  the 
survival  in  America  of  methods  of  craftsman- 
ship brought  from  specific  localities  in  the  old 
world. 

Trinity  Church,  Oxford,  was  built  in  1711 
and  is  mentioned  here  chiefly  because  it  exhibits 
a  more  ambitious  plan  in  its  original  design, 
having  transepts  in  the  interior  which  greatly 
add  to  its  seating  capacity  and  carry  out  the 
cruciform  idea  both  within  and  without.  Its 
details  of  design,  masonry  and  woodwork  dis- 
play an  affinity  with  the  earliest  phase  of  Geor- 
gian work. 

Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  to  which  we  now 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     227 

come,  stands  for  all  that  is  best  in  church  archi- 
tecture of  the  Colonial  period  in  America.  The 
present  building  was  erected  in  1727  from  plans 
prepared  by  Dr.  John  Kearsley  who  seems  to 
have  drawn  his  inspiration  largely  from  St. 
Martin's-in-the-Fields,  London.  From  what- 
ever source  his  inspiration  came,  Christ  Church 
is  a  peculiarly  beautiful  and  graceful  structure, 
well  meriting  all  the  praise  that  has  been  be- 
stowed upon  it  and  incidentally  affording  a 
striking  instance  of  what  might  be  achieved  by 
the  amateur  architects  of  the  eighteenth  century 
who  believed  that  a  knowledge  of  architecture 
was  an  essential  part  of  every  gentleman's  edu- 
cation and  who  were  willing  to  put  aside  their 
own  professional  vocations  for  a  time  in  order 
to  plan  and  superintend  the  erection  of  some 
public  structure  as  a  kind  of  public  duty. 

In  every  respect  the  building  is  thoroughly 
representative  of  the  best  Georgian  traditions. 
In  outline  the  plan  is  rectangular  with  nave 
and  aisles.  The  round  headed  windows  of  the 
lower  stage  are  separated  from  each  other  by 
pilasters  whose  capitals  support  the  projecting 
cornice-like  string  course.  Superimposed  above 
this  member  are  the  bases  of  other  pilasters 
separating  the  windows  of  the  upper  tier  and 
while  their  capitals  come  immediately  below 
the  wooden  frieze  of  the  cornice,  the  roof  is 
surrounded    by    a    heavily    carved    balustrade 


228   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

whose  posts  are  capped  by  well  proportioned 
urns.  At  the  eastern  end  of  the  church,  a  great 
Palladian  window  lights  the  chancel.  The 
tower,  at  the  western  end,  is  a  massive  structure 
of  brick  and  is  surmounted  by  a  wooden  spire 
of  singularly  graceful  proportions  and  beautiful 
detail,  inspired  by  some  of  the  masterly  crea- 
tions of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  For  all  the 
proportions  are  massive,  the  structure  presents 
a  light  and  graceful  appearance,  attributable 
in  large  measure  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
side  walls  are  pierced  with  many  windows  and 
the  wall  spaces  broken  by  graceful  architectural 
adornments  such  as  the  pilasters  and  string 
courses.  In  this  general  lightening  effect  the 
triglyphs  of  the  cornice  frieze  and  the  spindles  of 
the  surmounting  balustrade  must  not  be  for- 
gotten. 

j  Within,  the  woodwork  is  thoroughly  typical 
of  the  best  Georgian  traditions  with  its  fluted 
pillars,  its  carefully  carved  triglyphs  and  guttae 
and  the  nicety  of  the  panelling.  The  aisles 
are  now  paved  with  tile  but  fortunately  the 
ancient  tombstones  fill  most  of  the  aisle  space 
so  that  the  modern  tiling  is  not  obstrusive.  The 
ancient  pews  have  been  replaced  by  modern 
seats  but  historic  locations  are  carefully  noted 
by  small  brass  tablets. 

St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadelphia,  built  in  1761, 
is  peculiarly  interesting  because  it  has  never 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     229 

undergone  profanation  at  the  hands  of  improvers 
or  restorers.  The  old  pews  remain  in  their 
original  condition  as  does  also  the  paving  of 
small,  square  blocks  of  stone  in  the  north  and 
south  aisles.  The  exterior  of  St.  Peter's  is  less 
ornate  than  the  exterior  of  Christ  Church  but 
it  preserves  the  same  interesting  feature  of  hav- 
ing doors  approximately  at  the  four  corners, 
the  tower  in  both  cases  either  serving  or  having 
served  at  one  time  or  another  as  a  vestry  room. 
St.  Peter's  exhibits  at  its  eastern  end  a  large 
Palladian  window  of  more  expansive  dimensions 
than  that  of  Christ  Church  which,  however, 
was  fully  in  accordance  with  the  tendency  of 
the  times  as  Palladian  windows  seem  to  have 
expanded  their  dimensions  as  the  Georgian 
period  progressed.  The  pediments  over  the 
four  doors  are  peculiarly  interesting  at  St. 
Peter's  and  the  cornice  shows  considerable 
refinement. 

The  galleries  within  are  supported  on  Tus- 
can pillars  and  the  other  woodwork,  while  of 
excellent  proportions,  is  exceedingly  simple  and 
dignified.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the 
pulpit  is  accessible  only  by  climbing  up  through 
the  tower;  the  clerks'  seats  are  immediately 
beneath  it.  The  organ  gallery  is  built  above 
the  chancel  which  is  at  the  east  end  of  the  church 
while  the  pulpit  and  the  clerks'  desk  are  at  the 
west  end  so  that  frequent  processions  of  the 


230  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

clergy  during  the  course  of  the  service  are  some- 
times necessary. 

In  the  same  class  with  Christ  Church  and  St. 
Peter's  must  be  mentioned  St.  Michael's  Church, 
Charleston,  S.C?,  and  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  New 
York  City.  St.  Michael's  was  built  in  1742  from 
plans,  it  is  believed,  furnished  by  James  Gibbs, 
the  famous  English  architect,  while  St.  Paul's 
is  of  native  American  design.  Both  churches 
show  the  strong  influence  of  Wren  feeling  which 
persisted  in  the  ecclesiastical  architecture  of 
the  Georgian  era. 

While  speaking  of  ecclesiastical  architecture 
of  the  Middle  Colonies  we  must  not  omit  to 
mention  the  Quaker  meeting  houses  which 
were  ordinarily  of  brick  or  stone  and  sometimes 
covered  with  a  coating  of  roughcast.  They  are 
rectangular  in  form  with  pitch  roofs  and  usually 
display  two  rows  of  square  windows.  The  cor- 
nices are  simple  and  severe  and  all  the  woodwork 
is  extremely  plain.  As  a  rule  there  are  four 
doors,  two  on  each  of  the  longer  sides.  The 
woodwork  within  is  not  infrequently  devoid 
of  paint  and  has  acquired  a  wonderfully  rich 
colour  from  age.  In  many  of  the  meeting  houses 
there  are  galleries  although  the  gallery  is  by 
no  means  a  universal  feature.  The  smaller 
and  older  meeting  houses  are  generally  of  one 
storey  in  height  but  those  of  later  date  are  fre- 
quently of  two  storeys  and  in  that  case  ordina- 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     231 

rily  have  galleries.  All  the  details  of  woodwork 
are  so  exceedingly  simple  that  one  can  scarcely 
say  they  show  a  marked  affinity  with  Georgian 
models  although  they  belong,  for  the  most  part, 
to  the  Georgian  period. 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  meeting  houses 
erected  to  accommodate  the  various  German 
sects.  These  buildings  generally  displayed  archi- 
tectural affinities  of  Teutonic  character.  As  an 
example  of  this  we  might  mention  the  old  Trappe 
Meeting  House  on  the  Perkiomen,  or  some  of 
the  Moravian  churches  and  Reformed  churches 
in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania. 

It  will  be  unnecessary  to  make  any  further 
mention  of  the  Georgian  churches  of  New  York 
as  they  are,  in  the  main,  similar  to  those  that 
have  been  mentioned  in  an  earlier  part  of  this 
chapter.  Some  note,  however,  should  be  made 
of  the  little  Dutch  churches  one  occasionally 
finds  such  as  that  at  Tarry  to  wn-on-the-Hudson. 
Here  we  see  the  same  persistence  of  Dutch  eccle- 
siastical traditions  as  was  noted  in  Pennsylvania 
in  the  case  of  German  traditions  exemplified 
in  the  structures  like  the  Trappe  Meeting  House. 
The  general  form  of  the  building  and  the  method 
of  its  execution  might  readily  be  paralleled  in 
Holland. 

We  now  come  to  the  New  England  Meeting 
House  as  the  next  type  demanding  examination 
and  for  this  we  can  find  no  more  fitting  example 


232   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

than  the  Old  Ship  Meeting-house  at  Hingham, 
Massachusetts.  This  building  was  erected  in 
1680  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  framed  by  ship's 
carpenters.  It  is  a  spacious  square  building 
of  extreme  severity  of  line.  The  roof  is  hipped, 
or  would  be  a  perfectly  hipped  roof  were  it  not 
truncated  at  the  top  and  finished  with  a  balus- 
trade and  a  belfry  with  a  small  pointed  spire. 
The  exterior  is  so  devoid  of  all  architectural 
amenity  that  one  can  scarcely  speak  of  the 
structure  as  having  any  architecture  at  all. 
The  walls  are  clapboarded  and  the  cornice  is 
of  the  simplest  contour.  The  interior  is  plain 
and,  owing  to  modernisation,  has  been  made 
unattractive  and  prosaic.  For  our  purpose  this 
building  is  valuable  as  marking  the  four-square 
type  of  meeting  house  so  often  met  with. 

Where  the  older  meetings  have  not  fallen 
victims  of  modern  improvement,  their  interiors, 
though  severe  and  rigid,  possess  a  degree  of 
charm  with  their  ancient  high  backed  pews,  tall 
pulpits,  and  seats  for  the  elders  of  the  meeting 
immediately  below  them.  Their  excessive 
plainness  is,  of  course,  proverbial,  but  although 
there  was  a  dearth  of  architectural  amenity 
in  their  construction,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
many  of  them  possessed  the  charm  of  unobtru- 
sive simplicity. 

The  Old  South  Meeting-house,  erected  in 
1730,  is  a  fair  representative  of  similar  struc- 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     233 

tures  where  more  attention  was  paid  to  and  more 
allowance  made  for  architectural  endeavour. 
The  wonted  plan  of  having  the  pulpit  on  one  of 
the  long  sides  was  adhered  to  and  the  gallery 
stretched  around  on  the  other  sides.  The 
double  rows  of  windows  are  round  arched  and 
form  the  chief  point  of  interest  both  on  the 
exterior  and  in  the  interior.  The  brick  is 
laid  in  Flemish  bond  and  there  is  a  slightly 
projecting  base  course  several  feet  from  the 
ground.  Cornices  are  plain  and  the  expansive 
roof  is  rather  flat  in  pitch.  The  tower,  while 
graceful  enough  in  proportion,  is  severely  plain. 
Nevertheless  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  at- 
tenuated proportions  of  the  spire  with  the  little 
arcade  around  its  base  have  a  certain  charm  of 
their  own  which  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
analyse. 

Of  wholly  different  type  is  King's  Chapel. 
Here  we  find  ample  evidence  of  attention  to 
architectural  opportunity  and  enrichment. 
While  the  rectangular  plan  is  adhered  to,  the 
interior  is  divided  into  nave  and  aisles  by  the 
columns  which  fulfil  the  double  function  of 
supporting  the  roof  and  upholding  the  galleries. 
The  windows  in  the  lower  row,  underneath  the 
gallery,  are  of  smaller  dimensions  than  those  in 
the  upper  row  which  throw  their  light  down  over 
the  galleries  into  the  middle  of  the  nave.  The 
windows  of  the  lower  row  have  flat  arched  tops 


234   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

while  those  above  are  round  arched.  The 
masonry  is  of  carefully  dressed  stone  and,  while 
there  are  no  buttresses,  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing is  adorned  by  pilasters  at  the  corners  and 
by  a  pillared  arcade  forming  a  porch  around 
the  square  tower.  The  roof  is  hipped.  Inside 
the  building,  far  more  play  is  given  to  archi- 
tectural elaboration  than  outside.  Here  we 
find  the  pairs  of  columns  supporting  the  roof 
and  galleries  are  fluted  from  top  to  bottom 
and  surmounted  by  elaborately  carved  Corin- 
thian capitals  upon  which  are  imposed  sections 
of  frieze  and  cornice  from  which  again  spring 
the  arches  of  the  roof  vaulting.  While  the 
effect  is  agreeable  enough,  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  the  arrangement  and  general  method  of 
execution  are  illogical  and  capricious. 

The  old  North  and  Trinity  Churches,  Newport, 
also  exhibit  a  somewhat  similar  and  illogical 
arrangement  of  the  ceiling  and  its  method  of 
support.  Trinity,  Newport,  and  the  old  North 
are  mentioned  in  addition  to  King's  Chapel 
because  they  all  represent  the  New  England 
type  of  ecclesiastical  edifice  erected  during  the 
Georgian  period  which  affords  an  antithesis  to 
the  auditorium  type  represented  by  the  Old 
South  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  logical  de- 
velopment of  the  type  exemplified  by  the  Old 
Ship  Meeting-house  at  Hingham. 

It  would  be  an  unpardonable  oversight  to 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD     235 

bring  this  chapter  to  a  close  without  mentioning 
buildings  like  the  Park  Street  Church  in  Boston 
with  its  graceful  spire  and  other  buildings  of 
similar  type,  erected  about  the  same  period, 
whose  inspiration  we  owe  partly  to  former  eccle- 
siastical traditions  and  partly  to  the  new  spirit 
of  the  Classic  Revival.  In  Boston,  and  else- 
where throughout  New  England,  may  be  found 
many  such  churches  which  illuminate  the  era 
in  which  that  master  of  architectural  refinement, 
Samuel  Mclntire,  wrought  so  successfully. 

The  foregoing  pages,  cursory  as  the  review 
of  ecclesiastical  architecture  has  necessarily 
been,  will  show  the  diversity  of  styles  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  Colonies  from  North  to  South  and 
incidentally  the  reader  will  be  enabled  to  com- 
pare the  modes  of  architectural  expression  with 
the  ideals  and  habits  of  the  people  inhabiting 
the  several  sections  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MATERIALS   AND   TEXTURES 

THE  materials  of  which  any  structure  is 
built  and  the  way  in  which  those  ma- 
terials are  manipulated  have  quite  as 
much  to  do  with  the  general  aspect  as  mass  or 
contour.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  there- 
fore, that  we  pay  due  heed  to  the  material 
resources  at  the  disposal  of  builders  in  the  Colo- 
nial period.  Furthermore,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  materials  to  some  extent  influ- 
enced architectural  forms  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  tradition  and  hereditary  preferences,  as 
we  have  seen,  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon 
the  choice  of  materials  and  affected  the  way  in 
which  they  were  employed. 

A  very  great  number  of  the  settlers  of  New 
England,  as  stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  came 
from  the  Danish  parts  of  England  where  the 
timber  tradition  was  especially  strong.  Conse- 
quently, despite  the  abundance  of  stone  in  the 
new  land,  which  they  might  readily  have  used, 
they  preferred,  in  the  majority  of  instances, 
to  build  their  houses  of  wood.     Of  course,  some 

236 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  237 

allowance,  too,  in  this  respect,  must  be  made 
for  ease  and  expedition  of  working  and  for 
climatic  conditions.  In  the  Middle  Colonies 
and  the  South,  most  of  the  settlers  came  from 
the  Saxon  portions  of  England  where  stone  and 
brick  traditions  had  always  prevailed  and,  al- 
though there  was  abundance  of  good  timber  and 
occasionally  some  lack  of  other  materials,  there 
was  a  general  preference  for  brick  or  stone 
walls  notwithstanding  any  inconvenience  inci- 
dental to  procuring  them.  The  artisans  in  each 
section  preferred  to  work  with  the  materials 
with  which  they  were  most  familiar  and  house- 
holders also  seem  to  have  concurred  in  the  popu- 
lar choice.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  lack  of 
requisite  material  —  marble  or  suitable  stone  — 
had  not  a  little  to  do  with  the  common  use  of 
white-painted  wood  for  trims  and  external  orna- 
mental features  in  Georgian  buildings  whose 
English  prototypes,  in  many  cases,  were  em- 
bellished with  pillars,  pediments  and  cornices  of 
the  more  durable  substance. 

It  now  behooves  us  to  see  what  use  was  made 
of  the  several  materials  in  the  various  portions 
of  the  Colonies.  We  shall,  of  course,  find  brick 
and  stone  structures  in  New  England,  and  frame 
buildings  in  the  Middle  Colonies  and  the  South, 
but  the  preponderance  numerically  displayed 
the  characteristics  just  mentioned. 

If   "pigs   is   pigs",  doubtless,   by   the   same 


238  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

token,  "bricks  is  bricks"  and  also  "mortar  is 
mortar."  Notwithstanding  the  profundity  of 
this  truism,  it  is  just  as  well  to  remember  that 
there  are  bricks  and  bricks  and  that  there  is 
mortar  and  mortar,  too,  and  that  both,  when 
brought  together  in  a  wall,  mutually  interact 
and  are  susceptible  of  large  diversity  of  treat- 
ment. This  very  possibility  of  different  com- 
bination afforded  the  Colonial  builder  a  field  for 
the  exercise  of  not  a  little  ingenuity. 

For  the  benefit  of  readers  not  accustomed  to 
technical  terms  it  will,  perhaps,  be  well  to  ex- 
plain exactly  what  is  meant  by  the  words  "bond " 
and  "texture"  which  are  necessarily  used  in 
speaking  of  brick  masonry. 

The  term  "bond"  simply  means  the  way  of 
laying  or  the  manner  of  binding  and  denotes  the 
position  in  which  the  bricks  are  laid  in  their 
courses  and  the  appearance  created  by  the  rela- 
tive position  of  the  units.  In  the  walls  of  the 
houses  built  during  the  Colonial  and  post- 
Colonial  periods,  four  varieties  of  bond  are 
found,  two  bonds  sometimes  being  used  in 
conjunction  for  the  sake  of  variety.  They  are 
English  or  Liverpool  bond,  Flemish  bond,  Dutch 
cross  bond  and  running  bond.  English  or  Liver- 
pool bond  has  alternate  rows  of  stretchers  (bricks 
so  laid  that  the  long  side  is  exposed  to  view) 
and  headers  (bricks  so  laid  that  only  the  ends 
appear).     The   courses    are    arranged    so    that 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  239 

headers  and  stretchers  break  joints.  Flemish 
bond  consists  of  alternate  headers  and  stretchers 
in  every  course,  all  joints  being  broken.  It  is 
the  strongest  and  best-locked  of  all  bonds. 
Dutch  cross  bond,  like  English  bond,  consists 
of  alternate  courses  of  headers  and  stretchers 
but  with  this  difference:  in  English  bond,  the 
headers  and  stretchers  in  alternate  layers  are 
placed  directly  one  above  the  other  while,  in 
Dutch  cross  bond,  they  break  joints.  Running 
bond  consists  entirely  of  stretchers  and  is  a 
kind  of  degenerate  Dutch  cross  bond  with  all 
the  headers  left  out  or  introduced  only  at  inter- 
vals of  seven  or  eight  courses  to  tie  the  face  of 
the  wall  together.  English  or  Liverpool,  Flem- 
ish and  running  bonds  were  all  in  the  common 
heritage  of  English  building  tradition. 

For  the  sake  of  historical  accuracy  it  is  im- 
portant to  correct  a  popular  error  occasioned 
by  the  terms  "English"  and  "Dutch"  brick. 
It  is  commonly  stated  of  many  old  buildings 
that  they  were  built  of  brick  fetched  overseas 
from  England  or  Holland.  No  doubt  some  few 
were  but  most  of  them  were  not.  George  Cary 
Eggleston  set  forth  the  whole  matter  in  a  very 
clear  light  when  he  wrote  that  "nearly  all  these 
bricks,  whether  English  or  Dutch,  were  made 
in  America,  as  later  scholarly  research  has  con- 
clusively proved.  The  only  difference  between 
English  and  Dutch  bricks  was  one  of  dimensions. 


240  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

The  small  bricks,  moulded  upon  a  Dutch  model, 
were  known  as  Holland  bricks.  The  much 
larger  ones,  moulded  upon  an  English  model, 
were  called  English  bricks.  The  very  learned 
and  scholarly  historian  of  South  Carolina,  Mr. 
McCrady,  has  conclusively  proved  that  the 
so-called  English  bricks  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  Carolina  houses  could  not  have  been 
imported  from  England.  By  simple  arithmeti- 
cal calculation  he  has  shown  that  all  the  ships 
landing  in  the  Carolinas  during  the  seventeenth 
century  —  even  if  all  of  them  had  been  loaded 
exclusively  with  bricks  —  could  not  have 
brought  in  enough  bricks  to  build  one  half  or 
one  fourth  the  'English  brick'  houses  of  that 
part  of  the  country."  There  was  abundant 
clay  in  the  Colonies  and  the  colonists,  usually 
so  resourceful  and  self-dependent,  were  scarcely 
likely  to  ignore  an  opportunity  under  their 
very  noses  and  depend  upon  an  imported  com- 
modity, even  though  they  could  have  afforded 
the  cost.  Indeed,  bricks  were  exported  from 
some  of  the  Colonies. 

To  be  sure,  one  record  shows  that  ten  thou- 
sand bricks  were  imported  into  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  1628,  and  we  know  that  some  bricks  were 
imported  into  the  New  Haven  Colony  at  an 
early  date  and  likewise  that,  during  the  demoli- 
tion of  some  very  old  Connecticut  houses,  bricks 
were  found  with  the  name  "London"  impressed 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  241 

upon  them.  Then,  too,  several  instances  can 
be  cited  in  both  the  Middle  and  Southern  Colo- 
nies, where  bricks  were  imported  and  used  for 
certain  specified  buildings  and  there  are  a  few 
well  authenticated  cases  of  brick  importation 
from  Holland.  But  against  this  meagre  certi- 
tude of  a  few  cargoes  of  bricks  from  overseas 
there  is  the  abundant  evidence  of  extensive 
brick-making  in  the  Colonies  from  a  very  early- 
date.  There  is  one  reference  in  official  records 
to  a  brick  kiln  in  Connecticut  in  1635  and  there 
were  doubtless  other  brick  kilns  in  operation 
both  there  and  elsewhere  at  the  same  time  or 
even  prior  to  that  year. 

The  bricks  in  early  Colonial  use  were  of  vari- 
ous sizes.  As  a  rule,  the  older  the  bricks  the 
larger  they  are.  They  afterwards  became 
smaller  and  now,  in  our  own  time,  they  are  large 
again.  Some  of  the  bricks  were  four  inches 
by  eight  and  a  quarter  and  two  and  five  eighths 
inches  thick,  others  were  two  and  a  half  by  four 
inches  and  eight  inches  long.  The  "Dutch" 
bricks  were  thinner  than  the  "English."  Most 
of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  century 
bricks  were  roughly  moulded  and  not  a  few 
were  underburned  while  others  were  extremely 
hard  burned  and  had  much  pleasing  variation 
of  colour.  The  ends  of  arch  bricks  in  the  kiln 
were  often  burned  till  they  acquired  a  bluish 
black  and  almost  vitreous  glaze.     These  were 


242   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

used  for  headers  and  to  them  is  due  much  of 
the  colour  and  pattern  interest  of  old  walls. 
The  large  bricks  used  for  "pugging"  the  open- 
ings between  the  timbers  in  the  early  timber 
built  houses  are  scarcely  more  than  sun-dried 
and  readily  crumble  and  go  to  pieces  upon 
exposure  to  the  weather. 

In  speaking  of  the  "texture"  of  a  wall,  we 
must  take  into  consideration  the  kind  of  bricks 
used,  their  shape  and  size,  their  colour,  their 
bond  devised  to  give  a  distinctive  pattern  to 
the  wall  face,  the  mortar  joints  and,  finally,  the 
kind  of  mortar  used.  It  need  scarcely  be  said 
that  the  results  possible  with  the  old  brick  of 
slightly  irregular  shape  and  varied  colour  in 
English  or  Flemish  bond  —  Flemish  bond  was 
exceedingly  popular  among  eighteenth  century 
builders  —  were  infinitely  more  satisfactory  than 
any  that  could  be  attained  through  the  use  of  the 
later  "faultily  faultless"  pressed  brick  of  monot- 
onously uniform  shape  and  size,  with  a  surface 
"like  cut  cheese  and  a  colour  like  a  firecracker" 
and  a  great  deal  of  the  charm  of  the  old  work  is 
due  to  agreeable  texture.  While  there  is  some 
exceedingly  pleasing  brickwork  in  New  England 
and  especially  in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  brick 
excellence  is  much  more  common  in  the  Middle 
States  and  the  South  where  brick  building  was 
always  more  in  vogue.  Occasionally  in  New 
England,  and  very  frequently  farther  south,  a 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  243 

goodly  degree  of  interest  was  achieved  by  the 
combination  of  different  bonds,  by  herring-bone 
panels,  by  projecting  courses  on  wall  faces,  at 
cornices  or  about  chimney  tops  and  by  diaper 
patterns,  dates  and  initials  wrought  in  blue 
headers  on  end  walls  and  in  gables.  Specially 
moulded  capping  bricks  for  base  courses  and 
for  the  tops  of  walls  were  used  to  good  effect. 

Both  field  stone  and  local  quarried  stone 
were  used  in  New  England  and  masonry  was 
usually  of  the  rubble  type  although  occasionally 
the  stones  were  carefully  squared  and  dressed. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  stone  work  in  New 
York.  Sometimes  the  walls  were  of  stone  with 
brick  door  and  window  trims,  as  at  the  Manor 
House  at  Croton-on-Hudson.  In  the  Dutch 
part  of  northern  New  Jersey  the  native  reddish 
brown  stone  was  employed  with  excellent  effect 
both  in  rubble  masonry  and  for  cut  work.  In 
both  cases  it  was  often  pointed  with  white 
mortar  joints  which  gave  a  peculiar  and  striking 
contrast. 

In  Pennsylvania  we  find  masonry  of  singular 
excellence  and  beauty  where,  again,  both  field 
stone  and  quarried  stone  were  made  use  of. 
The  Pennsylvania  rubble  masonry,  laid  by 
workmen  who  were  merely  perpetuating  the 
traditions  they  had  brought  with  them  from 
England  and  Wales,  has  always  commanded 
admiration  and,  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia, 


244  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  same  inherited  masonry  traditions  are  still 
flourishing  vigorously.  These  rubble  walls 
were  sometimes  laid  with  stones  of  random  sizes, 
sometimes  with  stones  of  comparatively  uni- 
form dimensions.  In  a  few  instances,  notably 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kingsessing,  Phila- 
delphia, and  in  the  walls  of  Belmont,  Fairmount 
Park,  Philadelphia,  once  the  home  of  the  witty 
Judge  Peters  of  Revolutionary  fame,  the  old 
English  custom  of  galleting  the  wide,  white 
mortar  joints  with  little  spawls  was  practised. 
It  was  not  infrequently  the  case  that  houses 
would  have  walls  of  dressed  and  squared  stone 
in  front  with  rubble  walls  at  the  sides  and  rear. 
Some  few,  such  as  Cliveden  in  Germantown, 
Philadelphia,  and  Whitby  Hall,  Kingsessing, 
Philadelphia,  were  built  of  cut  stone  all  the 
way  about.  Whitby  Hall  and  a  few  other  houses 
also  furnish  interesting  examples  of  brick  door 
and  window  trims  that  project  slightly  beyond 
the  face  of  the  stone  wall.  This  Pennsylvania 
stone  work  displayed  practically  no  attempts 
at  carving  and  the  one  instance  where  it  has 
been  carved  is  found  in  the  window  trims  and 
Ionic  capitals  of  the  river  front  of  the  Bartram 
house,  Kingsessing,  Philadelphia. 

In  connexion  with  Colonial  stonework  must 
be  mentioned  the  coating  of  walls  with  stucco 
and  roughcast  which  were  either  allowed  to 
remain  their  natural  colour  or  whitewashed,  as 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  245 

at  Wyck,  Germantown,  Philadelphia.  The  very 
early  houses  were  not  stuccoed  at  first  and  the 
stucco  seems  to  have  been  added  later  as  a 
protection,  partly,  against  the  weather  where 
porous  stone  had  been  used  for  the  walls,  such 
as  some  of  the  grey  stone  quarried  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Whitemarsh  Valley.  The  mica 
stone,  so  abundant  in  Pennsylvania,  after  a 
few  years'  exposure,  becomes  impervious  to 
moisture  and  never  needs  stucco  protection. 
Oftentimes  stucco  or  roughcast  were  applied 
from  choice  and  not  from  necessity,  especially 
among  the  German  colonists  who  seem  to  have 
been  chiefly  responsible  for  the  introduction  of 
the  practice.  For  the  sake  of  finish,  contrast 
and  cleanly  appearance  the  stucco  or  roughcast 
coat  was  often  whitewashed  or  yellow  washed. 

Much  of  the  mortar  in  the  early  Colonial 
period  was  of  poor  quality  and  rapidly  disin- 
tegrated. Lime,  however,  was  soon  to  be  had. 
In  some  cases  it  was  imported,  in  others  it 
was  burned  wherever  limestone  or  oyster  shells 
were  to  be  had  and  the  quality  of  the  mortar 
was  very  generally  improved  throughout  the 
Colonies.  Some  of  it  was  exceptionally  fine  and 
to-day  is  as  hard  as  the  bricks  or  stone  it  binds 
together. 

The  oaken  timbers  for  the  framing  of  houses 
were  riven  and  hewn  into  shape  and  dressed 
down   with  an   adz.     Rafters   and   joists   were 


246   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

sometimes  treated  thus  and  in  other  cases 
were  sawn.  The  great  summer  beams  and 
oftentimes  the  studs,  too,  were  finished  with 
stopped  chamfers  along  the  edges.  The  spaces 
between  the  studs,  as  noted  in  Chapter  III, 
were  at  first  filled  with  "pugging"  of  stone  or 
brick  and  clay  mixed  with  chopped  straw  and 
then  plastered  over  in  the  manner  of  the  "black 
and  white"  or  half  timber  work  in  England. 
Whether  the  wall  spaces  between  the  studs  were 
ever  stopped  with  "wattle  and  dab"  —  an 
old  English  filling  of  clay,  plastered  over  a  kind 
of  loose  basketwork  of  interwoven  wattles  or 
withes  —  the  writer  is  unable  to  say  with  cer- 
tainty. It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the 
stud  spaces  were  sometimes  so  filled  and  it  is 
quite  certain  that  some  of  the  early  Connecticut 
chimneys  were  constructed  in  this  manner. 
The  survival  of  "wattle  and  dab"  work  in  New 
England  in  any  form  is  an  interesting  instance 
of  the  persistence  and  continuity  of  craft  tradi- 
tions. 

Clapboards  were  made  chiefly  of  oak  or  pine 
and  were  nailed  horizontally  to  the  outside  of 
the  studs.  They  were  usually  feather  edged 
and  lapped,  the  upper  over  the  lower.  Al- 
though it  is  not  impossible  that  there  was  some 
precedent  in  England  for  the  use  of  clapboards 
nailed  horizontally  on  the  outside  of  the  stud- 
ding, it  is  highly  probable  that  the  practice  of 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  247 

applying  them  in  this  manner  in  New  England 
was  first  dictated  by  climatic  necessity  as  a 
remedy  and  afterwards  became  incorporated  as 
an  essential  part  of  frame  construction.  In 
some  parts  of  New  England,  especially  in  Rhode 
Island  and  portions  of  Connecticut,  studs  be- 
tween the  posts  were  dispensed  with  and  verti- 
cal boarding  of  oak  or  pine,  usually  more  than 
an  inch  thick,  was  nailed  to  the  cills  and  girts. 
This  vertical  boarding,  for  which,  also,  there 
seems  to  have  been  an  English  precedent,  was 
generally,  though  not  invariably,  covered  out- 
side either  with  horizontal  clapboards  or  with 
long  shingles. 

Shingles  of  pine  were  made  both  in  the 
sizes  common  to-day  and  also  of  much  larger 
dimensions,  the  latter  being  used  for  the  outer 
sheathing  of  walls  that  had  first  been  boarded. 
Roof  shingles  were  sometimes  laid  on  boarding, 
sometimes  on  "lathing"  or  small  strips,  nailed 
like  purlins  on  the  rafters.  Shingles  afforded 
the  usual  roofing  material  not  only  in  New  Eng- 
land but  throughout  the  Colonies,  although  slate 
was  not  unknown  and  on  some  of  the  larger 
buildings  copper  and  lead  were  occasionally  used. 
In  dry  weather  the  danger  to  shingle  roofs  from 
sparking  chimneys  and  the  additional  source 
of  danger,  at  all  times,  from  defective  or  un- 
cleaned  flues,  led  our  forebears  to  adopt  some 
rather  curious  and  interesting  methods  of  fire 


248  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

prevention.  In  early  New  England  there  were 
the  chimney  viewers  whose  duty  it  was  to  in- 
spect the  chimneys  and  compel  the  householders, 
by  fines  or  other  means,  to  keep  their  chimneys 
in  repair  and  have  them  swept  with  sufficient 
frequency.  This  was  a  precaution  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  communities  where  most  of  the 
houses  were  built  of  wood. 

In  Philadelphia,  in  Colonial  times,  the  sight 
of  a  blazing  chimney  was  enough  to  throw  the 
whole  community  into  an  uproar  and  blazing 
chimneys  were  the  subject  of  legislation  by  the 
Provincial  Assembly  of  1775,  which  enacted 
that  "Every  person  whose  Chimney  shall  take 
Fire  and  blaze  out  at  the  Top,  not  having  been 
swept  within  one  Calendar  Month,  shall  forfeit 
and  pay  the  sum  of  Twenty  Shillings;  but  if 
swept  within  that  Time  and  taking  Fire  and 
blazing  out  at  the  Top,  the  Person  who  swept 
the  same,  either  by  himself,  his  Servants  or 
Negroes,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  Twenty  Shill- 
ings." 

Glass  for  windows  in  the  beginning  of  the 
Colonial  period  was  a  luxury  enjoyed  by  only 
a  few  of  the  more  well-to-do  settlers  and  even 
oiled  paper  was  not  always  easy  to  come  by 
so  that  oftentimes  the  humbler  houses  had  only 
shutters  to  close  window  apertures  and  afford 
protection  from  the  weather.  Window  glass, 
however,  was  imported  at  an  early  date  and  at 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  249 

an  early  date,  also,  glass  in  small  panes  was 
manufactured  in  the  Colonies. 

The  earliest  windows  were  filled  with  small 
diamond  shaped  panes  leaded  into  the  casements 
and  the  casement  window  was  universally  used. 
In  the  fore  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  double 
or  single  hung  sash  windows  became  the  fashion 
and  were  very  generally  substituted  for  the 
older  casements  by  alterations  made  in  the 
manner  alluded  to  in  Chapter  III,  although, 
quite  frequently,  particularly  in  the  Middle  and 
Southern  Colonies,  no  change  in  the  shape  or 
dimensions  of  the  window  openings  was  con- 
sidered desirable  or  necessary.  The  lights  for 
the  sashes  were  universally  small  and  it  was 
not  until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  that 
they  increased  appreciably  in  size.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  a  great  deal  of  the  charm 
and  individuality  of  fenestration  during  both 
the  early  Colonial  and  Georgian  periods  was 
due  to  the  manifold  divisions  of  the  lights  — 
with  lead  in  the  first  instance  and  with  heavy 
muntins  in  the  second.  A  good  many  of  the 
old  leaded  casements  that  had  endured,  despite 
the  favour  of  the  new  styles,  till  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  disappeared  at  that 
time,  the  lead  being  melted  to  make  bullets. 
This  is  said  to  have  been  the  fate  of  the  original 
windows  in  the  Church  of  St.  David  at  Radnor. 

Paint,  in  the  first  years  of  colonisation  during 


250   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  seventeenth  century,  though  not  unknown, 
was  not  in  common  use  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  old  woodwork,  whether  oak  or  pine, 
took  on  a  delightful  tone  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  from  the  combined  agency  of  the  atmos- 
phere and  the  smoke  of  wood  fires.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  neighbourhood,  paint  both  inside 
and  out  seems  to  have  been  used  from  the  first. 
It  should  be  remembered,  particularly  in  this 
connexion,  that  paint  for  either  exterior  or  in- 
terior use  in  the  Colonial  and  Georgian  periods 
was  not  invariably  white.  Colours  were  fre- 
quently used  and  specific  reference  has  been 
made  in  Chapter  VIII  to  the  employment  of 
paint  of  various  colours  for  panelling  and  other 
interior  woodwork. 

The  panelling  in  many  of  the  old  Colonial 
houses,  and  for  that  matter  the  same  thing 
may  be  said  with  perfect  truth  of  much  of  the 
panelling  to  be  found  in  houses  of  the  Georgian 
type,  exhibits  marked  irregularities.  Although 
the  almost  mediaeval  methods  of  the  early  crafts- 
men were  gradually  supplanted  by  other  ways 
of  treating  the  material,  there  was  always  a 
delightful  personal  element  of  originality  and 
lack  of  symmetry  in  the  panelling  and  wood- 
work generally.  It  is  this  very  originality  that 
gives  it  its  charm  and  interest.  It  is  precisely 
like  the  features  of  the  human  face.  If  all 
the  features  of  any  human  face  were  absolutely 


MATERIALS  AND  TEXTURES  251 

symmetrical  and  regular,  so  that  both  sides 
were  precisely  alike  in  every  measurement,  the 
countenance  would  be  truly  imbecile  in  expres- 
sion. It  is  the  irregularity  which  causes  the 
outward  indications  of  character  and  gives 
whatever  beauty  or  the  opposite  quality  there 
may  be.  The  early  craftsmen  had  no  compunc- 
tion in  making  one  panel  deeper  than  another, 
being  governed  therein  by  expediency,  the  width 
of  the  piece  they  were  using,  or  the  distance  to 
be  covered.  It  was  not  that  they  did  not  do 
their  work  well  and  in  a  workmanlike  manner, 
but  they  saw  no  reason  why  they  should  be  tied 
down  by  a  slavish  exactitude  in  the  exercise  of 
their  craft,  and  they  accordingly  took  liberties 
for  which  we  in  our  slavishly  mechanical  days 
may  be  truly  thankful,  and  from  which  we  may 
learn  a  valuable  lesson  if  we  will  only  use  our 
eyes  and  not  be  afraid  to  act  with  a  little  inde-  •* 
pendence. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

EARLY    AMERICAN    ARCHITECTS    AND    THEIR 
RESOURCES 

WHO  lived  in  our  old  houses  and  what 
manner  of  men  they  were,  we  fortu- 
nately know.  At  any  rate  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  find  out.  Who  planned  and  built 
those  houses  we  do  not,  as  a  rule,  know  nor  will 
the  most  careful  search  and  enquiry  always 
bring  to  light  even  the  name  of  the  architect 
or,  if  they  do  succeed  in  doing  so  much,  the 
information  gained  is  generally  so  meagre  that 
it  does  but  whet  the  appetite  for  more.  How- 
ever, regardless  of  what  we  may  or  may  not  be 
able  to  learn  of  the  designer  of  this  or  that  house 
or  public  building,  we  shall  be  quite  safe  in 
attributing  the  design  of  early  American  struc- 
tures to  the  agency  of  one  or  the  other  of  three 
classes  of  men.  This  triple  division  consisted, 
first,  of  amateur  architects;  second,  of  car- 
penter architects  and,  last  of  all,  of  professional 
architects.  In  this  grouping,  the  professional 
architect  is  given  the  last  place  because  he  was 
least    frequently    represented.     The    first    and 

252 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  253 

second  classes  were  by  far  the  most  numerous 
and  some  of  our  best  eighteenth  century  build- 
ings, houses,  churches  and  other  public  struc- 
tures alike,  are  the  results  of  collaboration 
between  them. 

We  shall  not  be  far  wrong  in  ascribing  seven- 
teenth century  buildings,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, to  the  capable  and  resourceful  craftsman 
who  not  only  preserved  conscientiously  the 
traditions  he  had  learned  as  an  apprentice  or 
journeyman  in  the  Mother  Country  and  faith- 
fully perpetuated  them  by  his  practice  as  a 
master  carpenter  or  joiner  in  a  new  land  but 
also  showed  himself  possessed  of  ready  wit  and 
keen  perceptive  faculties  by  the  alacrity  with 
which  he  modified  and  adapted  traditional 
methods  and  precedents  to  new  conditions  and 
requirements  of  climate  and  environment.  So 
far  as  he  could  consistently  do  so,  he  held  by 
preference  to  tradition  in  plan,  methods  of  con- 
struction and  choice  of  materials.  When  neces- 
sity or  common  sense,  however,  dictated  a 
departure  from  established  usage  he  was  quick 
enough  to  follow  the  promptings  of  expediency 
and  devise  satisfactory  substitutes  for  the 
deficiencies  of  past  practice.  Hence  were  origi- 
nated local  types  without  any  conscious  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  agents  to  be  original. 

The  methods  followed  by  the  seventeenth 
century  American  builder  showed  a  close  rela- 


254  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

tionship  with  the  practices  of  mediaeval  joiners 
and  masons.  Furthermore,  these  early  work- 
men showed  an  all-round  mastery  of  their 
own  craft,  an  intelligent  understanding  of  re- 
lated crafts  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
properties  and  uses  of  materials  that  their 
modern  successors  would  do  well  to  emulate. 
They  respected  their  calling  and  took  a  proper 
pride  in  the  excellence  of  their  craftsmanship. 
Hence  the  work  of  their  hands,  however  plain 
and  simple,  still  possesses  a  dignity  and  honest 
beauty  that  plainly  proclaim  how  they  put 
their  hearts  into  what  they  were  doing  and,  at 
the  same  time,  command  our  reverence  and 
admiration.  The  old  buildings  have  lasted  so 
well  and  assumed  such  an  atmosphere  of  grace 
because  the  artisans  acted  upon  the  principle 
that  what  was  worth  doing  at  all  was  worth 
doing  well  and  set  much  store  by  honest  work- 
manship instead  of  regarding  their  occupation 
as  a  job  to  be  got  through  with  at  a  maximum 
of  wage  for  a  minimum  of  time  spent  in  labour. 
They  got  the  best  out  of  their  materials  because 
they  knew  and  respected  the  peculiar  qualities 
of  their  materials.  Whether  English  or  Dutch, 
Welsh  or  Swedish,  the  handiwork  of  these  seven- 
teenth century  builders,  wholly  without  pretence 
as  it  was,  expressed  faithfully  the  aggregate 
of  the  contemporary  phases  of  the  domestic 
architecture  in  the  countries  whence  they  came 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  255 

and  also  evidences  both  the  beginnings  and 
development  of  our  own  several  vernacular  mani- 
festations, all  of  which,  to  a  certain  degree,  were 
obscured  and  discounted  by  the  expansion  and 
increasing  popularity  of  eighteenth  century 
Georgian  modes.  To  the  carpenter-architects 
of  the  seventeenth  century  we  owe  a  great  debt 
of  gratitude  for  their  faithful  preservation  of 
time-honoured  tradition  in  plan  and  manner  of 
building  so  that  we  may  easily  trace  our  archi- 
tectural lineage,  for  the  intrinsic  excellence 
of  the  structures  they  erected  and  the  lessons 
they  can  still  teach  us  in  craftsmanship  but, 
most  of  all,  for  the  honesty  and  sincerity  of  the 
vernacular  forms  they  developed,  forms  created 
by  ready  ingenuity  in  response  to  local  needs 
and  void  of  all  pretence  and  hollow  affectation. 
These  forms,  one  and  all,  are  full  of  vitality. 
Their  very  fitness  for  the  conditions  they  were 
designed  to  meet  in  the  neighbourhoods  where 
they  were  evolved  and  the  successful  event  of 
their  application  to  modern  demands  for  char- 
acteristic and  informal  domestic  architecture 
drive  home  the  extent  of  our  present  debt  to 
the  forgotten  and  nameless  architect-carpenters 
of  a  by-gone  generation. 

With  the  dawn  of  the  eighteenth  century  it 
becomes  easier  to  connect  buildings  and  the 
names  and  personalities  of  those  that  designed 
them.     When  we  are  not  able  to  say  with  cer- 


256  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

tainty  that  such  a  structure  was  designed  by- 
such  a  man,  we  know,  at  least,  that  there  were 
then  living  in  the  different  cities  men  of  acknow- 
ledged architectural  attainments,  that  their  work 
is  to  be  seen  in  this  house  or  that  church  as  a 
matter  of  indubitable  record  and  that  there  is 
a  strong  presumption  that  their  influence  is  to 
be  traced  in  the  design  of  houses  or  public 
edifices  where  there  is  no  documentary  evidence 
to  support  attribution  to  an  individual  archi- 
tect. 

One  of  the  earliest  personalities  known  to  us 
in  a  distinctly  architectural  connexion  is  James 
Portius  "whom  William  Penn  induced  to  come 
to  his  new  city  to  *  design  and  execute  his  Pro- 
prietary buildings.'"  He  was  "among  the  most 
active  of  the  Carpenters'  Company  and,  at  his 
death,  in  1736,  gave  his  choice  collection  of 
architectural  works  to  his  fellow  members,  thus 
laying  the  foundation  of  their  present  valuable 
library."  This  Carpenters'  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia was  the  organisation  that,  at  a  later 
date,  erected  its  gild  house,  known  as  Car- 
penters' Hall,  where  the  Continental  Congress 
for  a  time  held  its  sessions.  It  is  still  in  an 
excellent  state  of  preservation  and  still  houses 
the  collection  alluded  to.  The  skill  of  the 
resident  artisans  of  early  Philadelphia  was 
of  no  mean  order,  as  their  handiwork  amply 
attests  to-day,  and,  in  1724,  the  master  car- 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  257 

penters  of  the  city  "composed  a  gild  large  and 
prosperous  enough  to  be  patterned  after  'The 
Worshipful  Company  of  Carpenters  of  London,' " 
an  organisation  founded  in  1477.  Unfortu- 
nately we  cannot  with  certainty  ascribe  any 
buildings  now  standing  to  the  plans  of  James 
Portius.  We  can  only  make  conjectures.  It 
is  highly  probable  that  Penn's  house,  which 
originally  stood  in  Letitia  Court  until  its  removal 
to  a  site  in  Fairmount  Park,  was  designed  and 
erected  by  the  Proprietary's  architect.  The 
Manor  House  at  Pennsbury  was  also,  in  all 
likelihood,  designed  by  him  or  at  least  carried 
out  under  his  superintendence.  It  is  a  source 
of  never  ending  regret  that  it  was  allowed  to  fall 
into  a  state  of  utter  decay  and  was  then  demol- 
ished. Had  it  been  preserved,  we  should  now 
have  an  invaluable  addition  to  the  architectural 
treasures  of  our  country  and  an  interesting 
commentary  upon  the  work  of  one  of  the  earliest 
architects  known  to  have  practised  his  profes- 
sion in  the  Colonies. 

It  is  most  important  to  remember  that  some 
considerable  degree  of  architectural  knowledge 
or,  at  the  very  least,  some  substantial  cultiva- 
tion of  architectural  taste  and  discrimination 
seems  to  have  been  considered  an  indispensable 
part  of  every  gentleman's  education  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Consequently  it  is  not 
surprising  to  find  that  some  of  our  native  ama- 


258  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

teur  architects  possessed  knowledge  and  ability 
by  no  means  contemptible.  Architectural  ap- 
preciation was  favoured  by  the  fact  that  not 
a  few  of  the  sons  of  the  wealthy  and  well-to-do 
were  sent  to  England  to  complete  their  educa- 
tion and  usually  spent  some  time  afterwards 
in  travel  on  the  Continent.  Such  broadening 
influences  naturally  tended  to  stimulate  and 
aid  the  development  of  architectural  taste  and, 
as  a  certain  amount  of  dexterity  in  drawing  was 
highly  esteemed  and  practised  as  a  polite  mas- 
culine accomplishment,  a  considerable  number 
of  men  were  fitted,  to  a  far  greater  degree  than 
the  majority  of  so-called  well  educated  people 
nowadays,  to  translate  their  architectural  pref- 
erences into  a  form  sufficiently  intelligible  for 
the  master-carpenter  to  work  from  in  putting  an 
idea  into  a  tangible  shape. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing 
that  a  large  number  of  men  of  substance  and 
leisure  for  the  cultivation  of  polite  accomplish- 
ments were  capable  of  producing  a  set  of  meas- 
ured drawings,  such  as  professional  architects 
prepare,  to  turn  over  to  a  contractor  for  exe- 
cution. They  were  not.  But  the  division  of 
functions  was  altogether  different.  The  client, 
as  he  would  now  be  termed,  showed  a  more  in- 
telligent and  constructive  appreciation  of  archi- 
tectural principles  in  a  proportionately  larger 
number  of  cases  than  he  does  at  the  present 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  259 

day.  He  formed  a  definite  conception  of  what 
he  wished  and  was  capable  of  conveying  his 
desires  lucidly  by  means  of  drawings  or  rough 
sketches  to  the  head  workman  charged  with  the 
actual  task  of  construction.  As  the  average 
client  was  better  informed  and  thought  more 
clearly  upon  matters  architectural  than  the 
client  of  later  times,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
master-carpenter  of  the  eighteenth  century  was 
infinitely  more  capable  than  the  average  artisan 
of  like  rank  to-day.  He  was  not  only  a  skilled 
master-mechanic,  competent  to  translate  rough 
draughts  and  sketches  into  carefully  prepared 
working  drawings,  but  he  was  also  "a  person  of 
some  architectural  education  and  taste  and 
endowed  with  a  nice  perception  and  valuation 
of  architectural  merits  and  proprieties.  He  was 
materially  aided  in  his  work  by  a  number  of 
valuable  and  explicit  architectural  books  with 
measured  drawings  of  whose  assistance  he  did 
not  hesitate  freely  to  avail  himself.  Further- 
more, he  still  retained  a  sympathetic  respect 
for  his  materials  and  a  conscientious  apprecia- 
tion of  worthy  craftsmanship,  inherited  by 
tradition  from  his  mediaeval  predecessors  and 
wholly  apart  from  modern  commercialism.  Pride 
in  his  calling  impelled  him  to  the  closest  per- 
sonal supervision  and  painstaking  interest.  He 
would  be  content  with  nothing  short  of  the  best. 
The  amateur  architects  were  no  mere  dabbling 


260  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

dilettanti,  flirting  with  a  polite  and  amiable 
penchant  for  architectural  amenities.  The  best 
of  them,  and  those  that  left  the  most  impressive 
memorials  of  their  talent  and  skill,  were,  as  we 
shall  presently  see,  busy  men  of  large  affairs 
and  serious  interests.  They,  as  well  as  the 
master-carpenters,  were  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  best  architectural  books  of  the  period 
and  often  had  a  fair  showing  of  them  on  the 
shelves  of  their  own  libraries.  More  than  one 
of  them  left  standing  orders  with  their  London 
booksellers  to  send  them,  upon  publication, 
such  volumes  as  were  most  worth  while.  An- 
other factor  of  their  fitness  is  also  to  be  reck- 
oned. It  was  not  unusual  for  them  to  possess 
training  and  experience  as  surveyors.  Indeed, 
it  was  almost  imperatively  necessary  for  large 
landowners  to  have  a  knowledge  of  surveying  in 
order  to  look  properly  after  their  interests. 
This  training  gave  them  an  insight  into  the 
practice  of  making  accurate  measurements  and 
draughting  and  the  effect  of  such  practical  and 
exact  education  was  not  without  its  weight  when 
they  addressed  themselves  to  designing  build- 
ings. 

One  of  the  most  striking  and  eminent  figures 
among  the  eighteenth  century  amateur  archi- 
tects was  the  Honourable  Andrew  Hamilton, 
"the  day-star  of  the  American  Revolution," 
as  Gouverneur  Morris  styled  him,   sometime 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  261 

Attorney-General  of  the  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Provincial  Councillor,  Speaker  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly  from  1729  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  successive  years  afterward  and,  above 
all,  illustrious  jurist  and  pleader,  whose  defence 
of  Peter  Zenger,  the  New  York  printer,  in  1735, 
redounded  to  his  fame  both  in  England  and 
throughout  the  Colonies.  He  was  a  man  of 
exceptional  and  varied  attainments,  of  catholic 
cultivation  and  outlook  and  endowed  with 
remarkable  elegancy  of  taste.  Amid  all  the 
distractions  and  pressing  concerns  of  an  exact- 
ing legal  and  public  career  and  the  many  de- 
mands involved  in  the  successful  management  of 
a  large  private  estate,  he  nevertheless  found  time 
to  devote  a  good  measure  of  attention  to  archi- 
tectural diversions  and  left  an  enduring  monu- 
ment to  his  talents  in  that  direction  in  the  State 
House  in  Philadelphia. 

The  history  of  the  plan  for  the  State  House 
is  peculiarly  interesting  for  the  light  it  sheds 
on  contemporary  conditions.  Determined  to 
erect  the  State  House,  a  committee  of  three 
was  appointed  by  the  Assembly,  in  1729,  to 
procure  suitable  plans.  Two  members  of  this 
committee  prepared  plans  for  the  new  build- 
ing, namely  Andrew  Hamilton  and  Dr.  John 
Kearsley,  to  whom  further  reference  will  be 
made  in  a  following  paragraph.  Dr.  Kearsley, 
it  is  true,  had  achieved  considerable  reputation 


262   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

as  an  architect  by  the  plans  that  he  had  devised 
for  Christ  Church,  but  Hamilton  was  not  sup- 
posed to  have  any  aptitude  in  that  direction. 
He  was  a  lawyer,  much  occupied  in  the  public 
business  of  the  Province.  It  seems,  however, 
that  he  had  mastered  some  architectural  know- 
ledge while  in  London  where,  like  so  many  other 
illustrious  lawyers  of  the  Middle  and  Southern 
Colonies,  he  received  his  training  in  the  Inns 
of  Court.  Being  a  man  of  remarkable  and  ster- 
ling ability,  combining  with  his  wide  versatility 
and  breadth  of  view  a  fund  of  initiative  and 
force,  he  generally  pushed  to  a  successful  com- 
pletion any  matter  to  which  he  addressed  him- 
self. His  plan,  a  rough  draught  on  parchment, 
which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  collection  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  was  submitted 
to  the  Assembly  and  chosen.  For  assurance  of 
the  excellence  and  soundness  of  his  judgment, 
one  has  only  to  turn  their  eyes  to  the  fabric  of 
the  State  House. 

In  the  construction  of  public  edifices,  the 
trials  and  tribulations  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury architects  could  well  compare  with  the 
difficulties  encountered  in  some  instances  by 
their  twentieth  century  successors.  Work  on 
the  State  House  was  indeed  begun  and  vigor- 
ously pushed  forward  by  Hamilton  so  far  as  he 
was  able,  but  there  were  all  sorts  of  obstructions 
to    be    surmounted    and    drawbacks   and   hin- 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  263 

drances  to  be  set  aside.  There  were  grumbles 
and  growls  from  influential  people  who  were 
either  wholly  opposed  to  the  undertaking  or 
else  dissatisfied  with  the  site.  There  were 
hostile  criticisms  of  the  plan  adopted,  there  were 
strikes  among  the  workmen,  there  was,  at  times, 
a  lack  of  competent  labour,  there  were  wran- 
glings  about  the  necessary  funds  to  pay  the  costs 
—  everything,  in  short,  combined  to  retard 
progress  and  Judge  Hamilton  died  in  1741 
before  his  plans  were  fully  executed.  Although 
the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  State  House  is 
given  as  1733  —  the  greatest  portion  of  it  was 
built  then  —  its  completion,  as  just  stated,  was 
not  achieved  till  eight  years  later. 

Another  amateur  architect  of  the  period, 
deserving  of  mention,  was  Joseph  Brown  who 
was  born  in  Providence  in  1733  and  died  there  in 
1785.  After  acquiring  a  comfortable  fortune  in 
a  manufacturing  business,  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  pursuits  towards  which  his  tastes  for 
science  inclined  him.  He  was  particularly  in- 
terested in  electricity  and  had  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  subject;  he  was  likewise 
proficient  in  mechanics  and  astronomy  and  held 
a  professorship  in  Brown  University,  of  which 
institution  he  was  also  a  trustee.  Of  his  ability 
in  the  architectural  field,  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  Providence,  erected  in  1775,  and 
various  houses  bear  witness. 


264  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

John  Smibert,  whose  name  we  always  asso- 
ciate with  early  New  England  portraiture,  also 
extended  his  activities  into  the  realm  of  archi- 
tecture and  designed  Faneuil  Hall  whose  evi- 
dence is  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  his  skill.  John 
Greene,  of  Providence,  Captain  Isaac  Damon, 
of  Northampton,  and  many  more  might  readily 
be  added  to  a  list  that  is  dignified  by  the  great 
names  of  Washington  and  Thomas  Jefferson. 
Washington  is  said  to  have  designed  Pohick 
Church,  Virginia,  of  which  parish  he  was  a 
vestryman.  It  is  certain,  at  any  rate,  that  he 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  supervision  of  its 
erection  as  he  also  was  in  the  erection  of  Christ 
Church,  Alexandria,  where  he  was  likewise  a 
vestryman.  His  architectural  taste  is  still  fur- 
ther to  be  seen  in  the  fabric  of  Mount  Vernon. 
In  this  connexion  it  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind 
how  lively  an  interest  he  manifested  in  the  lay- 
ing-out of  the  Federal  City  and  the  planning  of 
its  public  buildings  according  to  a  worthy  and 
comprehensive  scheme.  Jefferson's  skill  as  an 
architect  is  evidenced  in  Monticello  and  in  the 
buildings  of  the  University  of  Virginia  which 
are  chiefly,  if  not  altogether,  attributable  to 
him  as  their  designer. 

Dr.  John  Kearsley  and  Dr.  William  Thorn- 
ton were  two  busy  and  intensely  active  eigh- 
teenth century  physicians  who  found  time  to 
acquit  themselves  most  creditably  in  the  field 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  265 

of  architectural  endeavour  as  well  as  to  do  their 
full  share  in  the  discharge  of  sundry  public 
duties  which  their  fellow  citizens  entrusted  to 
them.  Dr.  Kearsley,  arriving  in  Philadelphia 
in  1711,  soon  built  up  an  extensive  practice 
and,  at  the  same  time,  undertook  the  instruc- 
tion of  a  younger  generation  of  medical  men 
whom  he  is  said  to  have  enrolled  as  apprentices 
for  a  seven  years'  term  of  tutelage,  a  relation 
that  the  "apprentice"  students  apparently  found 
"both  onerous  and  exacting,  as  it  seemed  to 
include  the  duties  of  a  servant,  coachman, 
messenger-boy,  prescription  clerk,  nurse  and 
assistant  surgeon."  Apart  from  his  labours  as 
a  physician,  he  was  engaged  in  civic  and  Pro- 
vincial activities  of  the  first  order  and  long 
occupied  a  seat  in  the  Assembly  of  the  Province. 
As  an  architect,  he  is  entitled  to  the  highest 
praise  for  the  masterly  and  surpassingly  beauti- 
ful design  of  Christ  Church,  erected  from  his 
plans  in  1727,  and  inspired  to  some  extent,  so 
it  appears,  by  Saint  Martin-in-the-Fields,  in 
London. 

Dr.  William  Thornton  is  to  be  remembered 
as  the  designer  of  the  first  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton whose  erection  he  likewise  superintended. 
When  Latrobe  restored  the  building,  after 
its  partial  demolition  by  the  British  troops  in 
the  War  of  1812,  he  adhered  very  largely  to 
Dr.  Thornton's  plan.     During  a  long  residence 


266  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

in  Philadelphia,  he  took  an  active  part  in  public 
affairs,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  and  designed  the  old 
Philadelphia  Library,  which  was  completed 
in  1790.  Many  houses  are  also  to  be  ascribed 
to  Dr.  Thornton's  agency.  His  connexion  with 
the  federal  buildings  necessitated  his  removal 
to  Washington  where  he  continued  to  live  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  occupying  a  position  as 
first  head  of  the  Patent  Office. 

Interesting  as  it  might  be  to  prolong  this 
biographical  chronicle  of  amateur  architects 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  it  is  necessary  to  pass 
on  to  a  consideration  of  the  carpenter-architect. 
Samuel  Rhoads,  sometime  Mayor  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  designer  of  the  Pennsylvania  Hospi- 
tal, a  structure  of  which  any  architect  in  any 
century  might  well  feel  proud,  occupies  a  middle 
ground  between  the  amateur  and  the  carpenter- 
architect  and  his  history  throws  valuable  light 
on  conditions  affecting  the  methods  and  prac- 
tice of  both.  According  to  the  Quaker  theory 
that  every  boy  should  be  brought  up  to  a  trade, 
no  matter  what  calling  he  might  afterward  in- 
tend to  pursue,  Rhoads  "became  a  carpenter 
and  builder,  though  he  did  not  confine  his  atten- 
tion exclusively  to  this  business,  but  appears  to 
have  branched  out  into  mercantile  adventures, 
speculations  in  real  estate"  and  the  like.  "He 
was  an  early  member  of  The  Carpenters'  Com- 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  267 

pany  of  Philadelphia,  and  from  1780  until  his 
decease"  was  its  master.  He  was  exceedingly 
public-spirited  and  took  an  active  part  in  all 
enterprises  for  civic  betterment.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  sat  in  the  Provincial  Assembly 
where  he  served  on  numerous  important  com- 
mittees and  was  chosen  one  of  the  Pennsylvania 
delegates  to  the  First  Continental  Congress. 
A  contemporary  writer,  in  describing  the  mem- 
bers of  that  body,  said  of  him  that  "he  was  a 
respectable  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  belong- 
ing to  the  Society  of  Friends  —  without  the 
talent  of  speaking  in  public,  he  possessed  much 
acuteness  of  mind,  his  judgment  was  sound,  and 
his  practical  information  extensive."  In  Octo- 
ber, 1774,  he  became  Mayor  of  Philadelphia. 
When  Benjamin  Franklin  reorganised  the  Amer- 
ican Philosophical  Society,  in  1743,  Rhoads  was 
one  of  the  officers  and  for  several  years  served 
as  one  of  the  vice-presidents. 

From  the  foregoing  memoranda  it  may  be 
seen  what  manner  of  man  Samuel  Rhoads  was 
and  in  what  esteem  he  was  held  by  his  fellow- 
citizens.  But  what  chiefly  concerns  our  present 
purpose  is  his  connexion,  in  the  capacity  of 
"carpenter  and  builder",  with  the  designing 
of  an  exceptionally  fine  piece  of  eighteenth  cen- 
tury architecture.  When  the  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1751,  passed  an  act  founding  the 
Pennsylvania  Hospital,  he  was  elected  a  man- 


268   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

ager  by  the  contributors  and  continued  on  the 
board  for  thirty  successive  years.  Ground  was 
secured  and  "this  purchase  being  made,  a 
complete  plan  of  the  buildings  was  directed  to 
be  so  prepared  that  a  part  might  be  erected, 
which  could  be  occupied  the  ensuing  season. 
[1755.]  Samuel  Rhoads,  one  of  the  managers, 
was  very  zealous  in  the  work  and,  after  con- 
sulting the  physicians  in  regard  to  the  situa- 
tion of  the  cells  and  other  conveniences,  he 
presented  a  design  of  the  whole  building,  in 
such  form  that  one  third  might  first  alone  be 
erected  with  tolerable  symmetry.  After  due 
consideration,"  the  plan  was  adopted  and,  not 
many  years  afterward,  the  whole  design  of  this 
carpenter-architect  became  an  accomplished  fact 
to  the  lasting  satisfaction  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions. 

One  of  the  worthiest  of  the  carpenter-archi- 
tects was  Asher  Benjamin  of  Massachusetts. 
Although  his  work  was  almost  wholly  domestic 
and  many  of  his  commissions  would  nowadays 
be  classified  as  "unimportant",  he  neverthe- 
less exerted  a  markedly  beneficial  influence 
upon  the  architecture  of  his  day,  an  influence 
for  which  we  have  reason  to  be  grateful.  He 
seems  to  have  begun  his  career  as  a  carpenter 
in  Greenfield,  Deerfield  and  neighbouring  Massa- 
chusetts towns.  While  working  in  Greenfield, 
he  published  "The  Country  Builder's  Assistant ", 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  269 

1796,  a  book  of  "simple  and  practical"  scope, 
containing  much  suggestive  and  useful  material. 
Afterwards,  removing  to  Boston,  he  published, 
partly  in  collaboration  with  one  D.  Ray  nerd, 
and  partly  by  himself,  several  architectural 
works  of  a  more  ambitious  nature.  The  trade 
of  carpenter-architect  and  builder  was  likewise 
creditably  represented  by  numerous  other  eigh- 
teenth century  mechanics  in  New  England  and 
the  other  parts  of  the  country  who,  although 
they  did  not  essay  to  publish  technical  books, 
were  nevertheless  far  more  than  mere  commer- 
cial-minded artisans  perfunctrily  "doing  the 
jobs"  appointed  them  and  they  achieved  the 
commissions  they  were  entrusted  with  in  a 
manner  to  merit  the  praise  and  emulation  of 
modern  designers.  Nor  may  we  forget  the 
earlier  carpenter-architects  of  the  seventeenth 
century  who  created  standards  of  excellence  as 
a  precedent  for  their  successors  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Chief  among  them  must  be  named 
John  Allis  of  Braintree,  born  in  1642,  who  both 
designed  and  executed  many  houses  and  churches 
in  Massachusetts  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century ;  likewise,  due  acknowledgment 
must  be  made  to  John  Elderkin,  a  contemporary 
of  Allis,  who  left  a  deep  and  beneficial  impress 
upon  the  architecture  of  southeastern  Con- 
necticut. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  draw  a  sharp  line 


270   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

of  distinction  between  the  carpenter-architects 
and  the  earliest  representatives  of  the  profes- 
sionally trained  architects  whose  occupation 
consisted  mainly  in  designing  buildings  and 
supervising  their  erection.  During  the  greater 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  many  able 
amateur  architects  and  the  capacity  of  the 
carpenter-architects  to  translate  and  embody 
acceptably  in  tangible  form  the  conceptions 
supplied  by  their  employers  would  naturally 
militate  against  the  success  of  a  numerous  class 
of  men  whose  sole  occupation  was  to  design  and 
supervise.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable,  there- 
fore, that  some  of  the  men,  whom  we  should  be 
disposed  to  regard  as  the  early  representatives 
of  the  professional  architect  class,  judging  from 
the  importance  and  visible  evidence  of  the 
structures  attributed  to  them,  played  the  r61e 
of  contractors  as  well  for  the  erection  of  the 
buildings  they  designed,  even  though  they  did 
not  share  in  the  manual  labour.  We  know,  for 
example,  that  Richard  Munday  first  appears 
in  active  career  as  the  partner  of  one  Wyatt 
in  a  building  or  contracting  business.  His  ca- 
pacity, however,  shown  by  the  Town  House 
or  State  House  in  Newport,  built  from  his  plans 
in  1743,  entitles  him  to  a  high  rank  among  early 
American  architects. 

While  some  of  the  early  professional  archi- 
tects —  the  term  is  not  altogether  felicitous  but 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  271 

seems  necessary  for  the  sake  of  differentiating 
them  from  the  other  two  classes  —  were  doubt- 
less self -trained  to  a  great  degree,  a  few  appear 
to  have  had  instruction  in  England  under 
competent  masters.  Notable  among  them  was 
Peter  Harrison,  the  architect  of  the  Market  or 
City  Hall  of  Newport,  built  in  1760,  who  was 
sometime  an  assistant  to  Sir  John  Vanbrugh 
and  is  said  to  have  been  a  pupil  of  James  Gibbs. 
McBean,  the  designer  of  St.  Paul's  Chapel  of 
Trinity  Parish,  New  York,  erected  in  1764,  is 
also  thought  by  some  to  have  been  a  pupil  of 
Gibbs,  although  there  seems  to  be  no  trust- 
worthy base  for  such  a  supposition. 

Charles  Bulfinch,  so  deservedly  revered  in 
Boston  and  other  New  England  cities  for  the 
graceful  and  enduring  memorials  of  his  skill 
there  to  be  seen  on  every  hand,  will  always 
occupy  an  exalted  position  among  our  early 
American  architects.  Probably  no  one  man 
ever  left  a  stronger  impress  upon  the  architec- 
ture of  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  His 
influence  in  Boston  and  the  vicinity  is  quite 
comparable  to  the  influence  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren  upon  the  appearance  of  London  and  we 
can  readily  understand  this  when  we  remember 
that  during  a  half  century  of  practice  he  designed 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  forty  churches,  libraries, 
theatres  and  other  public  structures  in  New  Eng- 
land, besides  his  contributions  to  domestic  work. 


272   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

A  discussion  of  the  characteristics  of  his  indi- 
vidual style  is  to  be  found  in  Chapter  X  of 
this  volume.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  he 
represented  and  upheld  all  the  best  traditions 
and  ideals  that  enter  into  the  making  of  a 
worthy  architect's  career.  He  was  fortunate 
in  his  environment  and  made  the  utmost  use  of 
his  opportunities.  Born  in  Boston,  in  1763,  the 
son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Bulfinch,  an  eminent  physi- 
cian, he  was  educated  in  the  city  of  his  birth, 
graduating  from  Harvard  in  1781.  He  after- 
wards travelled  in  Europe,  pursuing,  as  he  went, 
the  study  of  architecture.  This  course  he  was 
well  calculated  to  profit  by  to  the  fullest  extent 
from  naturally  keen  powers  of  observation  and 
discriminating  taste.  In  1786  he  returned  to 
Boston  and  thereafter  devoted  himself  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  As  elsewhere  noted, 
the  old  Boston  Library,  the  first  Boston  theatre, 
(1793),  and  the  State  House  on  Beacon  Hill  were 
among  his  early  contributions  of  importance  to 
architecture  in  his  own  city  but  the  scope  of 
his  professional  activities  was  not  confined  to 
Boston  or  New  England  for,  in  1817,  he  was 
called  to  be  supervising  architect  for  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  national  Capitol  in  Washington  and 
retained  that  post  until  its  completion  in  1830. 
As  one  of  the  fathers  of  American  architecture, 
Charles  Bulfinch  will  always  stand  in  a  pre- 
eminently honourable  place. 


THE  EARLY  ARCHITECTS  27S 

Another  of  the  "fathers  of  architecture  in 
the  United  States"  was  Benjamin  Latrobe,  a 
man  of  extraordinary  mental  endowments,  an 
accomplished  linguist  and  scholar,  an  eminent 
engineer  and  architect,  a  gallant  soldier  and  a 
typical  gentleman  of  the  old  school  with  all 
the  best  that  such  a  designation  implies.  Born 
in  1767,  the  son  of  an  English  Moravian  clergy- 
man in  Yorkshire,  he  was  educated  in  England 
and  achieved  a  promising  position  in  his  profes- 
sion, being  at  one  time  Surveyor  of  Public 
Offices  of  the  City  of  London.  In  1796,  on 
the  eve  of  his  coming  to  America,  he  was  offered 
the  post  of  a  Crown  Surveyor  at  the  annual 
salary  of  £1000  but,  fortunately  for  American 
architecture,  he  preferred  to  migrate.  During 
the  course  of  his  professional  career,  he  carried 
many  important  engineering  projects  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue  and  executed  many  notable  archi- 
tectural commissions.  In  this  connexion  he  is 
perhaps  best  known  as  the  designer  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  in  Baltimore,  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  in  Philadelphia  and 
by  his  work  upon  the  Capitol  building  at  Wash- 
ington which  he  was  called  upon  in  1803  to 
complete  and  which  James  Madison,  in  1815, 
asked  him  to  rebuild  after  its  partial  demolition 
by  the  British  troops  in  the  War  of  1812.  His 
pupil  William  Strickland  of  Philadelphia,  by 
structures  of  his  own  designing  which  included 


274   THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  COLONIAL  AMERICA 

the  old  Maritime  Exchange,  the  old  Mint  and 
the  Philadelphia  Naval  Asylum,  buildings  full 
of  substantial  dignity  and  grace,  paid  a  fitting 
tribute  to  Latrobe's  mastership  and  inspira- 
tion. 

In  the  honourable  roll  of  early  American 
architects  we  must  also  remember  Major  L'En- 
fant  who  so  ably  laid  out  the  plan  for  the  City  of 
Washington ;  James  Hoban,  whose  Dublin  train- 
ing and  youthful  familiarity  with  the  best  of 
English  and  Irish  Georgian  work  peculiarly 
fitted  him  for  success  in  his  treatment  of  the 
old  State  House  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
and  the  White  House  in  Washington;  John 
McComb,  among  whose  best  known  works  are 
the  City  Hall  of  New  York  and  St.  John's 
Chapel,  Varick  street,  and  many  more  designers 
whose  names  and  individual  achievements  one 
would  gladly  recall  did  space  permit.  The 
reader,  however,  notwithstanding  the  lack  of 
further  specific  reference,  cannot  fail  to  recog- 
nise from  the  memoranda  already  set  forth  how 
worthy  has  been  our  architectural  past,  how 
able  were  the  men  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
it,  how  they  worked  and  how  fit  are  the  examples 
they  have  left  for  our  study  and  emulation. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Adam,  Brothers,  111,  152, 
170;  creations,  179;  ele- 
gance, 176 ;  influence,  105, 
111,  119,  146,  151,  175; 
mantel,  148,  149;  mode, 
179;  motifs,  153;  oval, 
148;  phase,  168,  170; 
school,  173 ;  type,  164. 

Adams,  John,  123,  189. 

Alexandria,  Va.,  159,  221. 

Allis,  John,  269. 

Alterations,  39. 

American  Philosophical  Soci- 
ety, 266. 

Andre,  Major,  200. 

Annapolis,  Md.,  203,  209. 

Anne  Arundel  Co.,  Md.,  96, 
162,  163. 

Architect,  carpenter,  252,  255 ; 
early  American,  252  et  seq. 

Architectural,  books,  135 ;  con- 
tinuity, 42 ;  evolution,  42. 

Architectural  Record,  35. 

Architecture,  Colonial,  defini- 
tion of,  7,  8;  Georgian, 
definition  of,  7,  8. 

Armorial  bearings,  211. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  93, 141. 


B 

"Bait,"  horses,  77. 

Bake  House,  Salem,  Mass.,  53, 

54,  55. 
Bala,  Pa.,  69. 
Baltimore,  Md.,  273. 
Baluster  spindles,  110,  165. 
Balustrade,  185. 
Barge-board,  73. 
Bartram  house,  244. 
Bartram,  John,  132,  133,  151. 
Beacon  Hill,  Boston,  177. 
Bedchamber,  91 ;  groundfloor, 

94,96. 
Beds,  truckle  or  trundle,  45; 

"let  down,"  45. 
Bells,  church,  216. 
Belmont,     Fairmount     Park, 

Phila.,  134,  244. 
Belvoir,    Anne    Arundel    Co., 

Md.,  162. 
Benjamin,  Asher,  268. 
Bergen  County,  N.J.,  15. 
Berkeley,  Governour,  87,  91. 
Bermuda,  86. 
Bethlehem,  Pa.,  76. 
Beverley,  95. 
Bond,  238 ;    Dutch  cross,  238 ; 

English,    238;      Flemish, 


277 


278 


INDEX 


Bond,  continued, 

137,  186,  221,  222,'  223, 
225,  238 ;  Liverpool,  238 ; 
running,  238. 

Boston,  Mass.,  52, 54, 209,  271 ; 
Library,  272 ;  Massacre, 
190 ;  State  House  at,  177. 

Boyd,  John,  T.  Jr.,  35. 

Braintree,  Mass.,  269. 

Brick,  23,  88,  137,  219,  221, 
223,  225,  233;  building 
regulations,  84;  Dutch, 
86,241,242;  English,  86, 
239,  240 ;  imported,  240 ; 
making  in  Virginia,  84, 
85 ;  New  Haven  Colony, 
240 ;  prices  of,  in  Virginia, 
86;  use  of ,  in  Virginia,  87. 

Bricklayers,  83. 

Brickwork,  185,  196. 

Brown,  Joseph,  263. 

Brown  University,  263. 

Bruce,  Philip,  94. 

Bruton  Parish  Church,  Wil- 
liamsburg, Va.,  209,  220. 

Bulfinch,  Charles,  105,  111, 
174,  175,  176,  201,  271, 
272;  influence  of,  271; 
Statehouse,  191. 

Bulfinch,  Dr.  Thomas,  272. 

Burials,  211. 

Byfield,  Mass.,  107. 

Byrd,  94. 

Byrd,  William,  157. 

Byrd,  Col.  William,  158, 159. 


Capital,  188, 227 ;  carved,  106 ; 


Corinthian,  234 ;  Ionic,  244. 

"  Captains'  walks,"  2. 

Carolina.  See  South  Caro- 
lina. 

Carpenter,  architect,  179. 

Carpenters'  Company  of  Lon- 
don. See  Worshipful 
Company  of  Carpen- 
ters. 

Carpenters'  Company  of  Phila., 
256,  266. 

Carpenters'  Hall,  Phila.,  202, 
256. 

Carpentry,  books  on,  135. 

Carter,  Robert,  208,  221. 

Carters'  Grove,  Va.,  162,  163. 

Casement,  leaded,  53. 

Cathedral,  Baltimore,  Md.,  273. 

Catskills,  19. 

Cedar  Grove,  Harrogate, 
Phila.,  134. 

Cedar  Park,  Anne  Arundel  Co., 
Md.,  96,  98. 

Cellar,  88. 

Chamberlayne,  MajorJjThomas, 
88,  91. 

Chambers,  Sir  William,  146, 
148,  152. 

Chandler,  Joseph  Everett,  52, 
190. 

Charleston,  S.C.,  230. 

Chesapeake  Bay,  96. 

Chester,  Pa.,  195. 

Chew,  Chief  Justice,  93,  123, 
124,  143. 

Chimney,  20,  87,  144,  247, 
248;  breast,  146;  brick, 
88;     brick     and     stone, 


INDEX 


279 


Chimney,  continued, 

89 ;  central,  49 ;  clay,  52 ; 
exterior  Southern,  89 ;  ex- 
terior New  England,  89; 
offsets,  89;  outside,  80, 
89 ;  pieces  continued,  148 ; 
quadruple,  142 ;  sloped 
weatherings,  89 ;  stone,  49. 

Chippendale,  Treatise  on,  146. 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  Va., 
159,  221,  223,  224,  264; 
Lancaster  Co.,  Va.,  208, 
221,  222;  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  119,  125,  186,  210, 
211,  216,  226,  227,  229, 
230,  262. 

Church,  bells,  216 ;  city,  209 ; 
"Court",  209;  Colonial 
period,  205  et  seq. 

Church  of  England,  207. 

Cipriani,  147. 

City  Hall,  Newport,  R.I.,  192 ; 
New  York,  274. 

Clapboard,  23,  246,  247 ;  cas- 
ing, 50;  first  use  of,  50; 
tradition,  grafting  of,  103 ; 
in  gable  ends,  28. 

Classic,  element,  99;  formal- 
ity, 101 ;  Revival,  11,  12, 
105,  111,  112,  115,  116, 
165,  166,  169,  170,  171, 
173-175,  177-180,  191, 
201,  203,  235. 

Classicism,  101,  169,  171,  173; 
Renaissance,  128 ;  re- 
vived, 203. 

Climate,  252 ;  influence  of,  on 
architecture,  80. 


Climatic  conditions,  237. 

Cliveden,  Germantown,  Phila., 
93, 124, 143, 144, 150, 152, 
244. 

Clothing,  214. 

Clouston,  Treatise  on  Chippen- 
dale, 146. 

Coffee  houses,  196;  London, 
Phila.,  196,  197;  Brad- 
ford's, Phila.,  196,  197. 

Colonial  architecture,  defini- 
tion of,  7,  8. 

Colour,  contrasting,  202;  of 
interior  paint,  149 ;  Dutch 
36. 

Column,  178 ;  Corinthian,  172. 

Congress  Hall,  Phila.,  189. 

Connecticut,  49,  269. 

Cooper  River,  S.C.,  96. 

Cornice,  72,  108,  138,  233. 

Coultas,  Col.  James,  139, 
141. 

"  Country  Builder's  Assistant ", 
268,  269. 

Country  seats,  132. 

Court  House,  Phila.,  193, 
194. 

Craftsmanship,  methods  of, 
80. 

Croton-on-Hudson,1  N.Y.,  24, 
29,  243. 

Croton  River,  118. 

Custom  House,  Salem,  Mass., 
192. 


Dale,  Sir  Thomas,  86. 
Damon,  Capt.  Isaac,  264. 


280 


INDEX 


Danish  strain,  79. 

Declaration  of  Independence, 
183,  186. 

Deerfield,  Mass.,  107,  268. 

DeLancey,  116. 

Delaware,  4,  8,  74,  161,  195; 
County,  Pa.,  61 ;  Geor- 
gian, 120,  121. 

Door,  138,  143;  batten,  30; 
divided,  30;  Dutch,  30; 
house,  92,  96,  97. 

Doorway,  140,  163,  169,  185; 
Dutch,  35 ;  elaborate, 
106;  plain,  106;  round 
arched,  109. 

Dormer,  76 ;  sharp  peaked,  89 ; 
long,  89. 

Drinker,  Elizabeth,  196. 

Dummer  house,  Byfield,  Mass., 
107,  108. 

Dutch,  brick,  86;  Colonial 
type,  12  et  seq.,  29, 31, 115 ; 
Colonial  tradition,  115; 
houses,  characteristics  of, 
24  el  seq. ;  houses  in  New 
Jersey  and  Long  Island, 
28;  of  Hudson  Valley,  21 ; 
settlers  on  Delaware,  58. 

E 

"E"  Plan,  48. 

Earle,  Alice  Morse,  45,  210, 
214. 

Eaton,  Governour  Theophilus, 
47 ;  house,  47 ;  inventory, 
47. 

Eaves,  27,  96,  138,  139;  flar- 
ing, 27. 


Economic  conditions  and  archi- 
tecture, 101. 

Eggleston,  Edward,  9,  39. 

Eggleston  George  Cary,  239. 

Elderkin,  John,  269. 

Ellsworth,  Oliver,  189. 

Embury,  Aymar,  28. 

Empire,  style,  12. 

England,  100. 

English,  brick,  86 ;  spoken  in 
America,  78. 

Entablature,  108. 

Entry,  New  England,  92. 

Environment,  252. 

Ephrata,  Pa.,  76. 

Episcopalians,  125. 

Esopus  River,  N.Y.,  19. 

Essex  County,  N.J.,  15. 


Fairfax  County,  Va.,  221. 
Fair  Hill,  Phila.,  134. 
Fairmount  Park,  Phila.,  131, 

141,  257. 
Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  183, 189, 

190,  264. 
Fan  light,  142,  145. 
Farm,  buildings,  161 ;   houses, 

brick,  74  ;  houses,  Dutch, 

21. 
Fatland,  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa., 

151. 
Field  stone,  69. 
Fireplace,     138,     146,      151; 

Dutch,  34. 
First  Baptist,  Providence,  R.  I., 

263,  264. 
Fitzhugh,  William,  83,  91. 


INDEX 


281 


Flemish,  bond,  137,  186,  221, 
222,  225,  233 ;  scroll,  110, 
186. 

Forbes,  General,  211. 

Fort  Nassau,  N.J.,  58. 

Framing,  245. 

Fraunce's  Tavern,  N.  Y.  City, 
116,  117,  192. 

French,  influence  of,  166. 

French  Revolution,  12. 

Frieze,  108. 

G 

Gable.  89,  139, 143, 163. 

Galleting,  244. 

Gallery,  209,  224,  225,  229, 
230. 

Gambrel,  97 ;  roof,  25,  26,  27, 
75 ;   Southern,  90. 

Gardens,  Philadelphia,  128.] 

Georgian,  architecture,  defini- 
tion of,  7,  8;  American 
phase,  154 ;  buildings, 
220 ;  churches,  221 ; 
churches  oi[  N.  Y.,  231; 
influence,  10 ;  local  adap- 
tations, 102, 103 ;  [Middle 
Colonies  types,  146,  188; 
mode,  beginning,  102 ; 
mode,  character  of,  99, 
100,  103,  105,  106,  109, 
110,  112,  113,  114;  New 
England,  157 ;  period, 
120;  Philadelphia,  128, 
129,  130,  154;  Southern, 
156;  Southern,  character 
of,  162;  tradition,  190, 
228;  types,  149. 


German,  principalities,  100 ; 
sects,  207. 

Germans,  60;  character  of 
settlers,  63;  influence  of, 
71,  72 ;  as  farmers,  65,  66 ; 
settlers,  62,  63;  Pennsyl- 
vania, 74. 

Germantown,  Phila.,  63,  148; 
Road,  71 ;   stone,  143. 

Gibbon,  Grinling,  110. 

Gibbs,  James,  119,  148,  230, 
271. 

Glass,  249. 

Gloria  Dei,  Phila.,  224. 

Gloucester  Point,  N.J.,  58. 

Graeme  Park,  Horsham,  Pa., 
69,  93,  106,  126,  135-138, 
146,  149,  188. 

Grange,  the,  Montgomery  Co., 
Pa.,  134. 

Greek  Revival,  v.  Classic  Re- 
vival, 165. 

Greene,  John,  264. 

Greenfield,  Mass.,  268. 

Green  Spring,  Va.,  87,  91. 

Grosvenor  Road,  Westminster, 
London,  106. 

Grumblethorpe,  Germantown, 
Phila.,  134. 

Gunston  Hall,  Va.,  162. 

H 

Hadley,  Mass.,  107. 

Half -timber,  85 ;  methods,  51. 

Hall,  91,  92, 138, 140;  central, 
96 ;  great,  92. 

Hamilton,  Honourable  An- 
drew, 134,  260,  262. 


282 


INDEX 


Hanrilton,fWilliam,  145. 

Harrison,  Peter,  192,  271. 

Harriton,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa.,  69. 

Harvard  College,  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  191,  272. 

Hatfield,  Mass.,  107. 

Haverford,  Pa.,  61. 

Hayward,  Nicholas,  83. 

Hempstead,  L.I.,  16. 

Henrico,  Va.,  86,  88, 91. 

Henry  VHI,  101. 

Highlands,  the,  Whitemarsh 
Valley,  Pa.,  134, 144, 148, 
150-152. 

Hingham,  Mass.,  232,  234. 

Hoban,  James,  177,  274. 

Hoffmann  house,  Kingston-on- 
Hudson,  N.Y.,  25. 

Holland,  16,  22,  100,  148. 

Hood,  overdoor,  70. 

Hope  Lodge,  Whitemarsh  Val- 
ley, Pa.,  69,  93,  106,  135, 
137,  188. 

Horsham,  Pa.,  93,  126,  135. 

Hospital,  Pennsylvania,  Phila., 
201. 

House,  bedchambers  in  early 
New  England,  44;  char- 
acter of  early  New  Eng- 
land, 44 ;  Dutch  Colonial, 
28,  32,  33 ;  plan  of  early 
New  England,  50;  sleep- 
ing arrangements  in  early 
New  England,  45. 

House  of  Burgesses,  Va.,  209. 

House  of  Seven  Gables,  Salem, 
Mass.,  53-55. 

Howe,  Lord,  200. 


Hudson,  Hendrick,  58. 
Hudson  River,  2,  16;    Valley 

of,  15,  22, 115. 
Hurley,    N.Y.,   [16,    17,    19; 

cheeses,  18. 

I 

Independence  Hall  v.  State 

House,  Phila.,  183. 
Indian  trails,  65. 
Inn  yards,  195. 
Irving,  Washington,  21. 

J 
James  River,  Va.,  162. 
Jamestown,  Va.,  86,  87,  205, 

206,  207,  209,  218. 
Jay,  John,  189. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,   159,   160, 

164,  177,  203,  264. 
Johnson,  Norton,  145. 
Joinery,  52. 
Jones,  Inigo,  101,  128. 
Jumel   Mansion,   New   York, 

118,  119. 

K 

Kearsley,  Dr.  John,  134, 227, 

261,  264,  265. 
"Keeping-room",  47. 
Keith,  Sir  William,  93,   106, 

126,  135. 
Kemp,  Secretary,  86. 
Kenmore,  Va.,  160. 
Kent,  148. 
Kentucky,  77. 
Keyblock,  109. 
King's  Chapel,  Boston,  Mass., 

213,  214,  233,  234. 


INDEX 


283 


King's  College,  N.Y.,  192. 
Kingsessing,  Phila.,  139,  244. 
Kingston-on-Hudson,       N.Y., 

16,  25. 
Kitchen,  early  New  England, 

45,46;  detached,  93, 139, 

162. 


Lambert,  Edward  E.,  48. 

Language,  vitality  of  old  forms, 
78. 

Latrobe,  Benjamin,  177,  265, 
273. 

Lean-to,  49 ;  additions,  47. 

Lee  house,  Marblehead,  Mass., 
103,  109. 

L'Enfant,  Major,  174,  177. 

'"  Lie-on-your-stomach  "  win- 
dows, 30. 

Logan,  James,  93. 

Log-cabin,  43. 

London,  83, 151, 271 ;  fashions 
102,  155. 

London  Coffee  House,  Philadel- 
phia, 196,  197. 

Long  Island,  N.Y.,  15,  22. 

Loyalists,  167,  212. 

M 

Macphaedbis-Warner  House, 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  107, 

108. 
Macpherson,    Captain    John, 

93,  141. 
Madison,  James,  273. 
Manor      House,      Croton-on- 

Hudson,  N.Y.,  24, 29, 243. 


Mantels,  98. 

Marble,    Pennsylvania,     185, 

186 ;   Scotch,  138. 
Marblehead,  Mass.,  54,   103, 

109. 
Maritime    Exchange,    Phila., 

274. 
Maryland,  3,  4,  8,  75,  77,  96, 

162,  163,  207. 
Masonry,  226;     English  and 

Welsh  traditions,  68,  243 ; 

Phila.,  243 ;  rubble,  243. 
Masques,  186 ;  grotesque,  118. 
Massachusetts,  49,   107,  214, 

232,  268,  269. 
Materials,  23,  83-85,  103,  127, 

236 ;  choice  of,  252. 
McBean,  271. 
McComb,  John,  177,  274. 
Mclntire,    Samuel,   105,   111, 

176,  235. 
Medford,  Mass.,  103. 
Mediaeval,  characteristics,  42; 

survivals,  54,  100. 
Meeting  house,  New  England, 

231 ;  Old  Ship,  Hingham, 

Mass.,    232,    234;       Old 

South,       Boston,       232 ; 

Quaker,  207,  230. 
Merion,  Pa.,  61 ;  Lower,  69. 
Mey,  Captain  Cornelius,  58. 
Middle  Colonies,  11,  22 ;  archi- 
tectural    diversity,     66 ; 

church  architecture,  230; 

churches,  207;    clannish- 

ness    and    isolation,    58; 

diversity    in    nationality 

and   speech,   57;      early 


284 


INDEX 


Middle  Colonies,  continued, 

types,  57,  80;     Georgian 

forms,     120,     127,     184; 

roads,  65  ;   trading,  64. 
Montgomery  Co.,  Pa.,  61. 
Monticello,  Va.,  161,  164,  165, 

264. 
Moore  Hall,  Chester  Co.,  Pa., 

212. 
Moore,  Judge,  of  Moore  Hall, 

212. 
Moravians,  76;   buildings,  63, 

64;  churches,  231. 
Morris,  Anthony,  145. 
Mortar,  28,  245. 
Mouldings,     108,     151,    222; 

Dutch,  36 ;   profiles,    144, 

152,  153. 
Mount   Pleasant,    Phila.,    93, 

141,   142,   143,   144,   146, 

150,  151,  264. 
Mount  Vernon,  Va.,  264. 
Mulberry  Castle,  S.C.,  97, 98. 
Munday,  Richard,  192,  270. 
Music,  New  England,  216. 

N 

Nassau,  Fort,  N.J.,58. 

Naval  Asylum,  Philadelphia, 
274. 

Netherfield,  Phila.,  134. 

New  England,  4,  5,  10,  77,  88 ; 
Colonial  type,  38;  Geor- 
gian, 99,  103,  106,  107, 
109,  111,  112;  survivals  of 
Queen  Anne  influence,  102. 

New  Hampshire,  107. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  47. 


New  Jersey,  8, 16, 74, 120  et  seq. 

New  Kent  Co.,  Va.,  218,  219. 

New  Netherlands,  16,  17,  20, 
21. 

Newport,  EX,  City  Hall,  271 ; 
State  House,  270. 

New  York  City,  114,  209,  230 ; 
City  Hall,  274;  of  Colo- 
nial Days,  193. 

New  York,  Georgian,  113. 

New  York  State,  8. 

Nieuw  Dorp,  N.Y.,  19. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  264. 

North  Church,  Boston,  234. 

O 

Old  Dominion,  84,  218. 

Old  Ship  Meeting  House,  234. 

Old  South  Meeting  House, 
Boston,  Mass.,  232. 

Old  State  House,  Boston, 
Mass.,  119. 

Old  Swedes  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  224. 

Old  York  Road,  Pa.,  135. 

Overhang,  54,  55;  in  South, 
90;  in  New  England  90. 

Overmantel,  108, 110, 141, 146, 
147,  151,  188;  decora- 
tions, 153,  155. 

Oxford,  Pa.,  224. 


Paint,  249,  250;  colour  of 
in  XVHPh  century,  149, 
150. 

Palladian  window,  109,  142, 
144,  150,  185. 


INDEX 


285 


Panel,  bevel  flush,  141 ;  over- 
mantel, 141 ;  34,  98,  108, 
119,  138,  147,  250,  251. 

Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 
Mass.,  235. 

Parlour,  92,  141. 

' '  Parson  Williams's ' '  house, 
Deerfield  Mass.,  107. 

Pediment,  97,  140,  142,  143, 
164,  188,  222 ;  segmental, 
108 ;   Swan's  neck,  108. 

Pencoyd,  Bala,  Pa.,  69. 

Penn,  John,  211. 

Penn,  William,  59,  61, 135, 211, 
256,  257. 

Pennsbury  Manor  House, 
Bucks,  Pa.,  257. 

Pennsylvania,  3,  8,  74,  76,  77, 
93,  106,  161,  195,  243; 
Colonial  types,  67-76 ; 
gardens,  133;  Georgian, 
107 ;  Georgian  charac- 
teristics, 121,  152-155; 
Georgian  houses,  120, 127, 
130-152. 

Pennsylvania  Historical  So- 
ciety, 262. 

Pennsylvania  Hospital,266,267. 

Penthouse,  28,  70,  139,  196. 

Peters,  Judge,  244. 

Pews,  210,  211,  212,  213,  232; 
family,  208 ;  Royal  Gov- 
ernors', 210. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  3,  58,  93, 
177,  209,  210,  271 ;  com- 
mercial prosperity,  130 ; 
Colonial  metropolis,  121; 
Country  houses,  122 ;  fox- 


hunting, 122;  Georgian 
types,  128-155  ;  life,  122 ; 
"  Republican  Court ",  125 ; 
seat  of  national  govern- 
ment, 189;  XVIIIth  Cen- 
tury architects  of,  134. 

Philadelphia  Library,  135,  266. 

Philadelphia  Naval  Home,  274. 

Philipse  house,  near  Tarry- 
town,  N.Y.,  116. 

Philipse  Manor  House,  Yon- 
kers,  N.Y.,  117. 

Pilaster,  63, 106,  111,  138, 169; 
Ionic,  145,  148. 

Pillar,  111,  145,  164,  201 ;  at- 
tenuation of,  176 ;  Tuscan, 
229. 

Pine  Street  Market,  Phila., 
194. 

Plan,  balanced,  99. 

Pohick  Church,  Va.,  159,  221- 
224,  264. 

"Pokes"  of  tobacco,  77. 

Pompeian  refinements,  111. 

Porch,  origin  of,  28,  29. 

Portico,  145,  150,  164,  172, 
201,  223. 

Portius,  James,  135,  256,  257. 

Portsmouth,  N.H.,  107. 

Post-Colonial  types,  166-181. 

Powel  house,  Phila.,  124. 

Precedent,  English,  88. 

Preferences,  hereditary,  80,  83. 

Presbyterians,  125. 

Providence,  R.I.,  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  263,  264. 

Public  buildings,  182-204. 

Pugging,  52,  246. 


286 


INDEX 


Q 

Quaker,  60;  hostility  to 
theatre,  200;  influence, 
122;  predilections,  106; 
scruples,  107. 

Queen  Anne,  101,  107,  116; 
New  England  affinities, 
107 ;  Middle  Colonies 
Georgian  affinities,  152 ; 
tradition,  75 ;   urns,  152. 

Queen  Anne's  Gate,  West- 
minster, London,  106. 

Quoin,  24,  219,  223;  brick, 
141. 

R 

Radnor,  Pa.,  61,  212,  224, 
225. 

Raynerd,  D.,  269. 

Renaissance,  100,  170,  173; 
classicism,  128 ;  feeling, 
220. 

Restorations,  52,  53,  190. 

Revere,  Paul,  house  of,  Bos- 
ton, 54;  household,  44, 
45. 

Rhoads,  Samuel,  266-268. 

Rhode  Island,  49. 

Roof,  76,  87,  89,  119,  139,  140, 
143,  224,  226,  230 ;  gam- 
brel,  25,  26,  75,  138; 
Dutch  gambrel,  26 ;  New 
England  gambrel,  26 ;  hip, 
142, 186,  232,  234 ;  hipped 
gambrel,  97,  138;  jerkin- 
head,  196,  197 ;  mansard, 
97;  pitch,  88,  96,  97. 

Rosicrucians,  63. 


Roughcast,  244. 

Royall  house,  Medford,  Mass., 

103,  107. 
Rubble,  23. 
Rutledge,  John,  189. 

S 
Saint  Anne's,  Annapolis,  Md., 

209. 
Saint   David's,   Radnor,   Pa., 

69,  212,  213,  224-226. 
Saint   John's    Chapel,  Varick 

St.,  N.Y.,  274. 
Saint  Luke's,  Smithfield,  Va., 

218, 219. 
Saint     Martin's-in-the-Fields, 

London,  227. 
Saint    Michael's,    Charleston, 

S.C.,  230. 
Saint    Paul's    Chapel,    N.Y., 

230,  271. 
Saint  Peters,  New  Kent  Co., 

Va.,    218,   219;      Phila., 

228-230. 
Salem,  Mass.,  176,  192. 
Saxon,  strain  of,  79. 
Schuyler  house,  Albany,  N.Y., 

118. 
Schuylkill  River,  58,  131. 
Scroll,  147 ;  Flemish,  110, 186 ; 

Ionic,  132. 
Seating,  in  churches,  209,  210, 

211. 
Servants'  quarters,  92,  93,  139, 

143. 
Seventh  Day  Baptists,  76. 
Shingles,  247 ;   cypress,  88. 
Shutters,  Dutch,  36. 


INDEX 


287 


Skippack  Creek,  Pa.,  63. 

"Slawbank,"  45. 

Smibert,  John,  264. 

Smith,  Capt.  John,  205. 

Smithfield,  Va.,  218. 

"Soaked"  bread,  77. 

Society  of  Friends,  122,  154. 

South  Carolina,  8,  96, 164,  274. 

Southern  Colonial,  162 ;  char- 
acteristics,^ ;  house  plan, 
90,  91,  92;  house  sur- 
roundings, 94,  95;  type, 
77, 96 ;  type,  brick  houses, 
96 ;  type,  plan,  87 ;  type, 
materials,  85. 

Southern  Georgian,  156,  159; 
characteristics,  162 ;  pe- 
culiarities, 161. 

Southern  planters,  157. 

Southwark,  Phila.,  199,  200. 

Staircase,  110;  winding,  49. 

Stairway,  139, 140,  226 ;  Dutch 
Colonial,  33. 

State  House,  Annapolis,  Md., 
203;  Bulfinch,  Boston, 
Mass.,  189,  191,  272; 
Charleston,  S.C.,  274 ; 
Newport,  R.I.,  192,  270; 
Old,  Boston,  Mass.,  183, 
189,  190;  Philadelphia, 
Pa.  (Independence  Hall), 
119,  183,  184,  186,  189, 
198,  261,  262,  263. 

Stenton,  Phila.,  93,  106,  137, 
138,  149,  163,  188. 

Stone,  23,  152;  cut,  127; 
dressed,  23,  127;  field, 
243 ;  quarried,  243. 


Stonework,  244 ;  Welsh,  226. 

Stratton  house,  Va.,  91. 

Strickland,  William,  177,  273. 

String  course,  72. 

Stucco,  23,  24,  91,  244,  245. 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  17. 

Sweden,  100. 

Swedes,  character  of,  59; 
settlements  of,  58,  59,  65 ; 
influence  of,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, 59. 


Textures,  of  Walls,  236. 

Theatre,  first  Philadelphia, 
199,200;  American  Com- 
pany, 200;  first,  Boston, 
272;   "New,"  Phila.,  201. 

Thornton,  Dr.  William,  177, 
264,  265,  266. 

Thoroughgood,  Adam,  house, 
88,  89. 

Torus,  108. 

Town  Hall,  Chester,  Pa.,  195 ; 
Newcastle,  Del.,  195. 

Tradition,  force  of,  39;  half- 
timber,  52;  identity  of, 
40;  persistence  of  archi- 
tectural, 42,  78,  79 ;  pres- 
ervation of,  252;  South- 
ern, 84. 

Transom,  75, 138 ;  small  light, 
106. 

Trappe  Meeting  House,  Pa., 
231. 

Trims,  brick,  140;  door  and 
window,  24,  141,  149; 
wood,  237. 


288 


INDEX 


Trinity  Church,  Newport,  R.I., 

234;      Oxford,  Pa.,  224, 

226. 
Trinity   Parish,  N.   Y.   City, 

271. 
Tuckahoe,  Va.,  162,  163. 
Tulip  Hill,  West  River,  Md., 

163. 
Tympanum,  countersunk,  108. 

U 

Upsala,  Germantown,  Phila., 
144,  145,  148,  150,  152. 

Urn,  140,  144,  152. 

Ury  House,  Fox  Chase,  Phila., 
134. 


Vanbkugh,  Sib  John,  192, 
271. 

Van  Cortlandt,  116;  Park, 
N.  Y.  City,  118;  Manor 
House,  Croton-on-Hudson, 
N.Y.,  118;  house,  N.  Y. 
City,  119. 

Van  Rensselaer  house,  118. 

Varick  Street,  N.  Y.  City,  274. 

Vaux  Hill,  Montgomery  Co., 
Pa.,  151. 

Virginia,  3,  4,  8,  75,  77; 
brickmaking  and  export, 
85,  86;  churches,  220; 
church  architecture,  218; 
Economic  Hist,  of  in 
XVIIIth  cent.,  94;  fami- 
lies, 81 ;  flowers  and  bushes 
imported,  94;  manner  of 
life    in    early,    82,    83; 


settlers'  characteristics, 
82 ;  social  distinctions, 
82;  University  of,  203, 
264. 

W 

Wainscot,  138. 

Wales,  100. 

Walls,  75,  139;  texture  of, 
152. 

Warder,  diary  of  Anne,  123. 

Ware,  148. 

Washington,  city  of  274 ;  cap- 
ital at,  177. 

Washington,  George,  159,  200, 
221,  264,  272;  equipage 
of,  125;  leave-taking  of 
army,  116 ;  second  inaug- 
uration, 189. 

"Wattle  and  dab,"  52. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  213. 

Wayne  Isaac,  213. 

Waynesborough,  Paoli,  Pa., 
69. 

Welsh,  architectural  peculiari- 
ties, 68;  as  immigrants, 
60,  61;  influence  of,  61, 
62 ;   masonry,  67,  68. 

Welsh  Barony,  Pa.,  61,  67, 
213. 

Wemyss,  Lady  Williamina,  of 
Moore  Hall,  Pa.,  212. 

Westminster,  London,  107. 

Westover,  Va.,  157. 

West  River,  Md.,  163. 

Whitby  Hall,  Kingsessing, 
Phila.,  139,  140,  141,  143, 
144,  146,  152. 


INDEX 


289 


"White  House,  Washington, 
274. 

Whitemarsh  Valley,  Pa.,  93, 
135,  148, 

William  and  Mary,  101. 

Williamsburg,  Va.,  209,  220. 

Wilton,  147. 

Window,  143,  233;  basement, 
141 ;  casing,  108 ;  church, 
221,  230;  circular,  163; 
diamond-paned,  48;  dor- 
mer, 72,  142;  double 
hung  sash,  53;  early 
forms  of,  108;  elliptical, 
222;  glazing,  91;  heads, 
137 ;  "  lie-on-your-stom- 
ach,"  30;  leaded,  249; 
Palladian,  109,  142,  144, 
150,  185,  223,  228,  229; 
treatment  of,  145. 

Wissahickon  Creek,  Phila.,^3. 


Woodlands,  Phila.,  133,  144, 
145, 148,  150, 151. 

Woodwork,  127,  138,  141, 
163,  188,  228. 

Workmen,  83. 

Worshipful  Company  of  Car- 
penters, London,  135,  257. 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  101, 
129,  221,  228,  217;  feel- 
ing, 230. 

Wren,  James,  221. 

Wyatt,  Governour,  84. 

Wyck,  Germantown,  Phila., 
71,  72,  73,  245. 

Wynnestay,  Phila.,  67,  68, 
69,  72,  73. 


Yonkers,  N.Y.,  116. 
York  County,  Va.,  91. 


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